You Again
by starglow13
Summary: Annabeth takes a trip to Manhattan from San Francisco.  Once there, she bumps into one of her old childhood friends.  Yea, that black haired sea-green eyed one.  Boy, is she in for the biggest surprise of her life.  Rated T for minor swearing!
1. What A Small World

**Hi! I'm here with my third story! Okay, so the idea for this story has been thriving in my head for the past few weeks, and I'm really excited that I finally wrote the first chapter. Oww, right now I have two anonymous bug bites, and one is really killing me! Oh, and I also have a poll set up on my profile page. It's whether you like Thuke or Thalico! Please try to vote soon, because I need to know what pairing I should use for this story. If I don't reach enough votes, I'll choose the pairing! (*ahem* Thalico)**

**Here are some important things that will be helpful to know in this story: This is another story narrated by Annabeth, but she isn't telling the past (when she is telling the past, I will make it in italics). This is an AU, so therefore, there are no demigods, gods, satyrs, etc. I might also bring some characters back from the dead—like Luke (I might not bring Luke back. I could say he moved), Bianca, Silena, and Beckendorf. Rachel will seem OOC. Don't get me wrong, I love Rachel, but I needed another character that could've had a potential love life with Percy (don't assume it's Perachel!), and there weren't enough details for the opposing character, Calypso. All the characters are around the age of 26. I might also use some quoting and scenes from the actual movie, You Again.**

**Yea. That's pretty much all I have to say. Sorry if my A/N's are a little longer than usual. For the education of you readers, this story IS based off of the movie 'You Again' (in case you haven't figured that out yet). I rated this story T for possible swearing and kissing.**

**Disclaimer: I might only do this once if I forget in later chapters. Anyway, all rights for the characters go to Rick Riordan. (Have any of you read the sneak peek of TSON? It's really good!)**

**Chapter 1: What A Small World…**

I walked down the busy streets of Manhattan, receiving odd looks from passerby's (spelling?).

I suppose they have the right, considering I am drenched in mud. My hair is hanging loosely in a mop of muck, while my clothes are sticking to my body.

Let's skip the explaining and get to the reason why I am in Manhattan.

*FLASHBACK*

_I groggily walked down the stairs of my small apartment in San Fransisco. It was 5:30 AM. Yea, I am quite the morning person._

_Ring! Ring!_

_I ran to the phone, wondering who would call this early._

"_Hello?" I asked, trying desperately not to make my voice crack._

"_Annabeth? Hi!" a woman's voice rang out._

"_Helen? Why are you calling me so early?" I asked her. Helen was my step-mom. My real mom had an issue with her pregnancy, and when I was born, something went wrong. She was paralyzed and later died in the hospital. _

"_How's work going?" My step-mom avoided my question._

"_Fine," I told her. I work for one of the biggest company's in architecture. You're probably wondering, why does she live in such a small apartment?_

_Well, it's called saving money for more _important_ uses._

"_That's great," Helen said. "But, I really think you could use a vacation." Wow, she gets to the point fast. _

"_What? I have all this paper work, and sketches-"_

"_Annabeth, I already talked to your boss. He said it was fine if you take some time off, since you haven't taken any time off in the past 2 years. You have two months worth of vacation!"_

"_But-"_

"_Nonsense! I bought you a plane ticket to Manhattan. New York City is absolutely beautiful! You could visit the Empire State-"_

"_You're getting ahead of yourself," I cut her off. _

"_Please just consider it. I don't want to waste this ticket," my step-mom said before hanging up._

_A vacation? Why would she want me to go on a vacation? Especially to New York City! Where they have all the beautiful skyscrapers, parks, renowned bridges…_

_Huh, maybe I could use a vacation? I'll technically be working, if I study the architectural build of the buildings and skyscrapers._

_I quickly dialed my step-mom's phone number._

"_Annabeth? Have you reconsidered?" It's amazing how she knew it was me. Then again, they have caller ID nowadays._

"_I guess I could use a vacation. Besides, I can study architecture there, right?" Big mistake._

"_Great! I'll come by and drop off your ticket. Your plane leaves tomorrow at 6:00 AM. Be there an hour before," she informed me._

"_Got it," I said, hanging up._

_Maybe a vacation wouldn't be that bad?_

That brings me back to the present. I arrived just a bit ago, and the first thing I am greeted with is a speeding taxi near a pile of mud.

Finding the right street in Manhattan is like finding a needle in a haystack, or a grain of sand in the beach, or—okay, you get it.

Anyway, I needed to rent an apartment or a hotel for the next two months. My step-mom said, and I quote, 'Since I bought your ticket, you rent the house!'

While I was deep in thought, some person decides to bump into me. Just my luck.

"Miss, I am so sorry!" the man told me, offering a hand. I reluctantly took it and pulled myself up.

"It's fine," I grumbled.

My gray eyes met his familiar sea-green. He, like every other Manhattan welcome-r, gave me an odd look.

"It's called mud," I smirked.

There was a moment of silence, until the dude broke it. "Annabeth?" His brows furrowed in confusion.

I narrowed my eyes. How did this guy know me? Unless… "Percy?"

My childhood friend smiled. "Yup."

"It's been so long! How've you been?" I grinned.

"Great! What brings you here?"

"Helen thought I could use a vacation," I said, rolling my eyes.

Percy smirked. "Hey, I was having this get-together with some friends tonight at 5:30. Would you like to come?"

"I'd love to! Where do you live?" I asked.

He pulled out a notepad and a pen and started scribbling down his address. When he was done, he gave me the paper. "Here."

"Thanks," I thanked him.

"No problem. Some of our old friends will be there."

"Really? Who?" I asked.

"It's a surprise."

I rolled my eyes at his immaturity. "Anyway, do you know any good rentable apartments, houses, or hotels? I have to find a place to crash for the night."

"Well, most of the hotels are packed and dirty. I would offer you a place to stay at my place, but I don't have any guest bedrooms…" he trailed off.

I blushed. "That's fine, I'll-"

"Maybe Thalia knows a good place to stay!" Percy interrupted.

"Thalia? She still lives here?" I ecstatically asked.

"Yea, same with all our other friends," Percy informed me.

I pulled out my cell phone, scrolled to contacts, and pressed Thalia Grace. The phone rang about four times until someone answered.

"Hello?"

"Thalia!" I screeched.

"Who is this?"

"Annabeth!"

"Annabeth? I haven't seen you in forever! How are you doing?"

"Great! I'm in Manhattan-"  
>"Woah. My ultimate best friend is in Manhattan and she didn't even tell me?"<p>

"Well, I just arrived. Helen recommended a vacation, and that's how I ended up here."

"Awesome! Where are you staying?"

"That's why I called you. I just bumped into Percy, I mean literally, and he doesn't know any good apartments or hotels. Any recommendations?"

"Such a Seaweed Brain. All the hotels and apartments here are really packed, so maybe you could stay at my place?" She turned the last sentence into a question.

"That would be great! Thanks so much, Thals! Where do you live?" That question comes up often.

"375 Boulevard Avenue." **(A/N: I made the address up.)**

"Thanks so much! I'll see you soon!" I told her before hanging up.

Percy asked, "So, did she give you a recommendation?"

"I'll be staying at her place," I told him.

"Cool. Oh, and Annabeth?" he asked before I started walking away.

"Yea?" I asked.

"Could you tell Thalia about the party tonight? She's also invited."

"Sure." I smiled, waved, and walked away.

I knocked on the cream colored house with the address that Thalia gave me over the phone.

Moments later, someone opened the door. "Annabeth!"

"Thalia!" I squealed and hugged her. She had the same electrifying blue eyes and spiky black hair.

"Come on in!" She gestured to the inside of her house. I walked in and took in my surroundings. The house was small, but nice. Downstairs, there was a kitchen, family room, and bathroom. I assumed the bedrooms were upstairs.

"It's really cozy in here," I told Thalia.

"Thanks. So, you ran into Percy already?" She raised a brow.

"Yea. It's such a small world."

"Mmm hmm."

"Oh, and while we're on the topic of Percy, he invited you and me to a party tonight at 5:30, his house. I have the address here," I mentioned, pulling the notebook paper out of my pocket. "He said it was some get-together."

"That's nice. Well, why don't we kill some time by ice-skating? I know it's your favorite."

I grinned. "You know me so well."

"Wait, you might want to change first," Thalia laughed.

"Huh?" I asked, forgetting about the mud issue. "Oh, yea." With that, I turned and ran to my suitcase, changing into a fresh pair of clothes.

After I came downstairs, Thalia ran out of the house, with me closely behind. She hopped into her Maserati Granturismo (car) and patted the seat next to her. I got into the passenger seat and waited for Thalia to drive away.

We ice-skated for hours. Afterwards, we went out to eat lunch. Time flew by. I guess the saying 'time flies by when you're having fun' is actually true.

"What time is it?" Thalia asked. I pulled out my cell phone and checked the time.

"6:00," I told her.

"Crap, wasn't Percy's party at 5:30?"

"Umm, it's okay if we're a little late," I shrugged while Thalia ran to her car. I followed, gave her the address, and watched her fly at speeds that would've given my dad a heart attack. **(A/N: See what I did there? That's a line from TLO)**

Thalia pulled into the driveway of a medium-sized white house. It looked pretty nice on the outside. We walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Percy opened the door and let us in.

For a party, it was pretty quiet. I didn't see anyone—until I walked to the dining room. There was a long glass table with a wooden rim. There were ten chairs in all, four on one side, four on the other, and two on the ends. Seated in the chairs were all of Percy's guests. By guests, I mean all of my former friends, until I moved to San Fran.

"Annabeth! What are you doing here?" Grover Underwood asked me.

"Hey Grover! I'm just here on vacation for two months. You see, my step-mom thought I could use one. Then I bumped into Percy earlier, and he invited me here," I explained the story.

"Hey Annabeth!" Travis and Conner Stoll waved.

"Hi!"

"Why don't you two sit down?" Percy 'asked' Thalia and me.

I took a seat next to Percy and Thalia took a seat next to me.

Scanning the room, I noticed that only one seat was left open. Grover, Travis, Conner, Percy, Thalia, Nico, Katie, and Silena were seated in the remaining seats.

I should probably tell you how we all met. First of all, we all went to the same school. But, we grew a greater bond at a summer camp that we all went to. There were all kinds of fun activities, like rock climbing, canoeing, and archery.

"Well, Annabeth's back!" Percy summed it up.

Everyone broke the silence and started asking questions like, 'how've you been?' and 'what's up?'

"I'm great!" I laughed. These people were bombarding me with questions!

"I'll go get some iced tea," Percy said.

A few moments later, he came back with a tray of glasses. There were ten of them.

"Why are there ten glasses?" Thalia asked. "There are only nine of us here. It's simple math." I snorted.

"Well, I'd like you to-" Percy started, but was interrupted by a familiar frizzy haired red head that walked in.

"I'm back!" Thalia and I must've been the only ones confused, because everyone else at the table (excluding Percy) showed an annoyed expression. I casually sipped my tea.

Percy kindly said, "Hi Rachel." I nearly spit all my iced tea out on Grover, who was sitting across from me. Luckily, I swallowed before any accident could happen. I don't think anyone noticed that I was shocked. There was a frizzy red head named-

"Everyone, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Percy smiled like she was the best thing in the world. Good thing I wasn't drinking any iced tea, because I would've spit it out all over Grover that time. Percy just confirmed my worst nightmare.

"Rachel, why don't you take that empty seat?" Percy motioned towards the empty seat next to Grover.

Rachel had other plans. She walked over to my seat and ordered, "Get out of my seat." Guess she really wanted to sit next to Percy.  
>"Your seat?" I scoffed.<p>

"Yea-" Rachel halted abruptly when she saw my face.

"Long time no see," I grumbled.

"Annabeth? What are _you_-" Rachel began sullenly.

"You two know each other?" Thalia, Percy, and just about everyone else in the room, interrupted in synchronization.

Rachel scoffed. "A little too much."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the obtuse Percy asked.

"Long story," I narrowed my eyes.

Rachel smiled menacingly. "Anyway, Percy, make the announcement already!" She was practically whining. What a _bit_-

"Rachel and I are getting married."

This time, I did spit all my iced tea out on Grover.

**Heh, really long chapter! The next chapter will (probably) be reflecting on what happened with Rachel and Annabeth. All unanswered questions MAY be answered in the following chapters, but if you still feel like you need to ask me something, go right ahead! Oh, and Percy and Annabeth never dated. (And always remember, this might not be a Perachel story!)**

**Don't forget to vote on the poll!**

**Until next time!**

**- starglow13**


	2. Some People Can Change

**Hey! I'm back! Guess what? I. Ate. Freaking. Alligator. I didn't even know it was alligator! I thought it was a meatball!**

***sobs in small corner***

**Heh, now that THAT'S over with, I want to thank those who reviewed. Ireland89, arissaprincess321, _**_**(another one of those no-names)**_**_, Scarletfire02, wisegirl1313, and KayCee. WARNING! This next chapter contains some swearing. I rated it T, didn't I? Oh, and I know the chapter is short, but I really wanted to write for you, since I'll probably be busy for the next couple of weeks. I have testing coming up for school, and school doesn't end until June 23****rd****. I will squeeze in writing time if I can!**

**Disclaimer: (Yay, I remembered!) I don't own PJO!**

**Chapter 2: Some People Can Change**

You know when you go to high school orientation and the peppy teachers (on drugs) say high school will be the best days of your life? Yea. If that theory is true, then my life must suck. There's only one way to describe my high school experience.

Rachel made my life a living hell.

Surprisingly, we used to be best friends. When I moved from Manhattan to San Fransisco, I had just started high school with no comrades. I was known as the geeky dork that gets an A+ in every class. Rachel, the carefree paint-loving kind girl, was my only friend. I had developed a crush on the captain of the football team—Luke Castellan. I told Rachel every one of my secrets, including my affection towards Luke. But, everything had changed sophomore year. Rachel started hanging out with the popular people, and started dating Luke. She began to treat me like I was some piece of trash thrown out in the middle of the road—just like any other popular person would.

Better yet, Rachel knew _every_ one of my secrets. She told all of her friends- otherwise known as the ugly bitches she calls friends- every secret I told her. She also knew things that I hated, (AKA spiders) and used those against me in her loathsome 'pranks'.

I'd rather not get into that too much. I can't believe how vulnerable I had made myself in high school—just to let Rachel manipulate my life without a fight. Yea, well she's in for it. People can change. I'm not the same insubstantial little girl she knows me as.

I can tell you one thing.

I can kick ass when I want to.


	3. Not My First Choice

**Hey everyone! I'm very pleased with reviews. Here's another update! Oh, and I had to do lots of research for this chapter (mostly on JB songs)! It took me a long time! Wait, that might've been because I kept getting side tracked…**

**Anyway, I was wondering if you guys wanted demigods or humans in this story. Just tell me your opinion! And based on the poll, I think I'll have Thalico in this story. Thanks to AnnabethChaserocks, NikolaiEvans115, Skywriter5, Athena's Owlet24, DaughterOfPoseidon1313, IloveBlueMonkeys, ASenseofImagination, dnapolymerase314, and percylover3579. I forgot to respond to previous reviews in the previous chapter, so I'll respond now.**

**Ireland89: Thanks! :D**

**Arissaprincess321: Yes, I agree.**

**(NO NAME): I'm not putting lemons in here. It'll be too awkward to write. Maybe they'll play truth or dare, though**

**Scarletfire02: Lol, good idea!**

**Wisegirl1313: Thanks! :D**

**Kaycee: Thanks! :D**

**AnnabethChaserocks: Yup!**

**NikolaiEvans115: Lol, and thanks so much!**

**Skywriter5: Thanks a bunch!**

**Athena's Owlet24: I know, Perachel sucks. Rachel is awesome! (Annabeth's better, though) O.o. Thanks so much for the support and all! I really appreciate it!**

**DaughterOfPoseidon1313: Thanks!**

**Ilovebluemonkeys: Ha, thanks a lot!**

**ASenseofImagination: Percabeth all the way! It might take some time, though**

**Dnapolymerase314: Nice pen name! Thanks a lot for the review!**

**Percylover3579: Thanks!**

**Sorry, I responded fast to those. I have a final science test tomorrow and it's 9:03 PM and I barely studied! I'm updating for you guys! (I'm sure I'll do fine on the test. I'm well prepared [from school]). I'm such a procrastinator.. Oh, and is it just me, or do people tend to read other people's fanfics more critically than their own? 'Cause I notice all these mistakes in other stories, but I never seem to notice the endless mistakes in mine. I'll shut up so you can read :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, Justin Bieber, and [some] of the weird jokes about Bieber on here. Sorry if you love him!**

**Chapter 3: Not My First Choice**

"Come on, girls!" Silena squealed.

"Silena, nothing you say will change my mind!" Thalia shouted, infuriated. Boy, you did _not_ want to see Thalia on her angry side.

"Annabeth, please convince Thalia!" Silena gave me puppy dog eyes.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sorry to say, Silena, but I'm with Thalia on this one." In case you haven't guessed already, Silena _oh-so-badly_ wanted to take Thalia and me shopping at one of the local malls. Silena decided to ring Thalia's doorbell at 7:00 in the morning - just so she could explore the wonders of the New York Mall—which she's been to a thousand times.

"Come on, you know you want to!" Silena whined.

"Umm, no, we don't," Thalia said.

"But, it'll give us time to bond and get to know each other better. Annabeth, you haven't seen us in – what – twelve years?"

I pondered that for a moment. Silena was a persuasive woman…

"I suppose we should catch up on each other's past life **(A/n: I really did not know how to word that sentence)**," I told Silena. She started jumping up and down, literally.

"You mean, catch up on each other's _love_ life," Silena gave Thalia and me a creepy smile.

"No, Silena, she doesn't," Thalia grumbled, walking outside and closing the door behind her. Silena and I quickly followed. We all got in Thalia's car, Silena in shotgun. Thalia turned on some heavy metal music.

"No, no, no!" Silena screeched. She quickly pulled a CD out of her purse and slipped it into the radio-thingie. All of a sudden, the overly feminine voice of Justin Bieber singing 'Love Me' filled the car. Why she has a CD of Justin Bieber in her purse may never be known.

"Um, Silena? Did someone spike your drink or something?" I smirked. Silena just rolled her eyes and swayed to Justin Bieber.

Just when Thalia couldn't take it anymore, Justin Bieber's song 'Love Me' switched to 'One Less Lonely Girl'.

_There's gonna be one less lonely girl_

_One less lonely girl_

_There's gonna be one less lonely girl-_

Thalia quickly turned the music off and shouted, "You mistake me for someone who gives a shit!" I think she was talking to Justin Bieber…?

While Silena feigned a hurt expression and Thalia fumed in the driver's seat, I was becoming more anxious by the second.

"Justin Bieber is _so cute_!" Silena told Thalia. "How could you _not_ like the kid?"

"I have many reasons. One: he's probably using hair growing oil to get puberty. Two: he's the Brand Ambassadors of sanitary pads, and three-"

"If you guys don't stop arguing this second, I'll-"

"Yea, and if I call Justin Bieber gay, he'll slap me with his purse! I don't f-"

"Could you just shut up and drive the car?" I interrupted that 'little' dispute.

The rest of the car ride was silent. I had decided that we should keep the radio off for now, so no one would fight over which station or CD.

"We're here!" Silena squealed, totally forgetting about her and Thalia's argument. She hopped out of the car and ran to _Charlotte Russe._

"Let's ditch her," Thalia muttered.

"Thalia! You know she just gets overexcited when she's shopping," I exclaimed.

Silena popped her head out of the doors to the mall and shouted, "Are you slowpokes coming or not?" Reluctantly, I followed Silena. I'll be pretty tired after this shopping spree.

0oOo0oOo0o

"Oooh, I love this dress!" Silena exclaimed, holding a hot pink colored dress **(A/N: Link to the dress is on my profile!)**. "It'd be perfect for Percy and Rachel's wedding!"

Now I was frustrated. I mean, Percy was one of my good friends, and all of a sudden, he's marrying my worst enemy! The girl that ruined my high school experience!

I sighed exasperatedly. Thalia noticed and said, "You never really answered everyone's question earlier when we were at Percy's get-together. You know Rachel?"

I gave her a disgusted look and replied, "Yup." Popping the 'p'.

Thalia smirked. "You don't like her?"

"Nope." I popped the 'p' once again.

"Why not?" Silena looked half-interested, as she browsed through the racks of dresses.

I sighed, "Let's just leave it at one simple statement. She made my life a living hell."

"How so?" Thalia asked, intrigued.

I sighed, again. It seems there is no way out of this. "Look. We used to be best friends. I moved from Manhattan to San Fran during freshman year in high school. Apparently, I was known as a geek and dork. Rachel was my only friend at the time, and I told her all of my secrets. Key word: was. During sophomore year, everything changed. Rachel began hanging out with the popular people that think the world revolves around them. She dumped me for her worthless friends. Like I said before, she knew every one of my secrets. She told everyone my secrets, and used all of my weaknesses against me in loathsome pranks. So, you could say my life was basically a living hell." Silena and Thalia seemed to contemplate this.

"Annabeth, don't you always say people can change?" Thalia told me. "You're not the same 'dork' you were back then. Maybe Rachel isn't the same bastard she used to be." Can Thalia go one sentence without using any cuss words?

"I don't know about that," Silena spoke up. "I knew a girl, who knew a girl, who knew a girl, who knew a girl's cousin, who knew her brother's friend, who knew-"

Thalia shouted, "Get on with it already!" She's really… irascible…

"Anyway, there was this guy. And he loved to rap. I mean, loved to. People tried to pry him from his odd love, but none succeeded. Later in life, he never lost his obsession. He became a rapper. To this day, he's rapping like a pro." And this is supposed to help me how?

"What does that have anything to do with this?" I asked her.

"Well, theoretically-" Silena began.

"No need to explain, honey," Thalia chuckled. "So, when are Percy and Rachel getting married?"

I groaned. I really didn't want to talk about this. In fact, I wanted to get the hell out of this store. Too much shopping in one day.

"Can we go now, guys? I'm tired," I lied. I mean, it was only 1:00 PM!

"Yea. Way too much shopping for my liking," Thalia commented.

Silena sighed. "Fine. But I hope you know that we'll come back here when we buy dresses for Percy and Rachel's wedding."

And somehow, _the_ subject was brought up again.

Oh god, why do you hate me?

**Sorry this was kinda short and suckish. I'm also sorry if you like JB. I was going to say something else, but I forgot…**

**Let's hope I remember soon! Oh, I just remembered… Now to add a chapter name! (by the time you read this the chapter name would've been there already)**

**-starglow13**


	4. She's Not What She Seems

**I only got, like, one (you caught me, I got three) reviews, but I really don't care. I know way more people are actually reading this, by the way! Anyway, thanks to Blank, Hidden in the flameS meSTDSD (lol, STD…), and AnnabethChaserocks. Here come the responses.**

**Blank: I know, right!**

**Hidden in the flameS meSTDSD: Thanks! And no, you probably won't have to wait a month for my updates! I posted over 20 chapters for my other story within 6 days. Well, one chapter took me two weeks…**

**AnnabethChaserocks: Lol, me too! Perachel? Pshh, the chances of that are the same as if pigs could fly. *Glances out window and sees flying pig***

**Umm… Heh, jk! It's not Perachel, no worries.**

**That's it for now. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Me no own PJO.**

**Chapter 4: She's Not What She Seems**

"Annabeth… Annabeth, wake up!" Thalia's voice started in a hushed whisper but grew louder by each word. I shot up and got out of bed. It wasn't very comfortable to see Thalia's electric blue eyes staring at you while your sleeping.

"What time is it?" I groggily asked, starting to make the guest bedroom's bed that Thalia let me sleep in.

Thalia checked her watch. "11:00," she told me.

"What!" I practically screamed, "You didn't wake me up?" I was _always _a morning person. See what Silena's shopping does to you?

"I figured you wanted some rest. You probably need some, with the whole waking-up-early-to-go-on-a-vacation concept," Thalia said, shrugging.

I sighed. "So, what plans do we have for today?" I asked her. Thalia was willing to take a week off of work, so she could help me get used to staying at her house.

"Well… Percy invited us to his house for lunch. He wants everyone to get to know Rachel a little bit more." Here comes the internal groan.

"Why do we have to go there? I mean, this is New York we're talking about! Can't we explore all of the renowned buildings and such?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips. My general idea of a vacation doesn't include the word 'Rachel'.

Thalia sighed. "The past is behind, don't dwell in it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. But most importantly, the present is here, live it," she said, sympathetically. "Put your past with Rachel behind you. You never know – she might actually be a great person."

I sighed. Thalia was onto me. She knew that I didn't want to go to Percy's because Rachel would be there.

But, that was actually a really affectionate gesture.

"Thanks, Thals. But…" I trailed off.

"What?" Thalia asked.

"I still don't want to go to Percy's house." I smiled sweetly, grabbed some clothes out of my suitcase, and went to Thalia's bathroom to change out of my sleepwear. I slipped on a yellow cardigan with a lighter yellow tank top under it and some black pants.

As soon as I was done changing, I walked out of the bathroom and right into the kitchen. I spotted Thalia at the kitchen table, drinking hot chocolate.

"Hey Thals. Let's go see some famous buildings!" I exclaimed, hoping Thalia would forget about the going-to-Percy's-house thing.

"Alright, get in the car," Thalia told me. Wow, she actually bought it!

Thalia walked out the door, me following suit. We got into her dark blue car.

"So, where are we going?" I asked Thalia once she started driving away.

"Um, you'll see," she spoke. I don't normally like surprises, but when it comes to famous bridges, buildings, and etc., I don't really care!

I looked out of the window in Thalia's car. I saw buildings. Buildings, buildings, buildings, and –Guess what?—more buildings. I guess that's what you get when you live in the city.

"Come on, we're here," Thalia said, giving me a mischievous smile.

I stepped out of the car and took in the beautiful sight of—

Percy's house?

"Thalia!" I shouted. That little trickster!

Thalia shrugged. "It was the only way I could get you to come here. Now come on, they're waiting for us!" She grabbed me by the arm and walked up to Percy's white house. She knocked on the door, only for it to be answered by a frizzy red-head.

"Annabeth! Hugsies!" Rachel squealed and hugged me tightly. Thalia raised an eyebrow at me. I tried shrugging, but it was no use, since Rachel was hugging me too tightly.

"Cut the crap, Rachel. We both know you're doing this just for-" I stopped suddenly when I saw Percy saunter over.

"Annabeth, Thalia! Come on in!" he laughed when he saw Rachel embracing me.

Soon, Thalia walked in the house. I shooed Rachel off of me and quickly walked in after Thalia, muttering so no one could hear, "High school was a horror movie. Here comes the sequel."

"You guys can go sit at the dining table," Percy told me, "Rachel and I are almost done with making the lunch." Hearing her name, Rachel walked in.

"What's that, baby?" Rachel asked. I internally (this being the second time I have internally done something today) gagged… If that's possible.

"I was just telling Thalia and Annabeth that we need to finish making the lunch," Percy informed Rachel. She kissed his cheek and followed him into the kitchen. I shivered, disgusted, and walked into the dining room. Seated at the table were Grover, Travis, Connor, Nico, Katie, Silena, and Beckendorf. (People call him by his last name. Only Silena gets to call him Charlie, his first name.) There were only ten chairs at Percy's dining table, but there were eleven people. Connor was sitting on a wooden chair that was from the kitchen.

"Annabeth! It's great to see you!" Beckendorf said when he spotted me.

"Great to see you too! Where've you been? I didn't see you at the get-together Percy had the other day," I mentioned.

"I had some work to do in the shop," he told me. I smiled and took a seat. Thalia sat in the open seat across from me.

"Lunch is done!" Rachel shouted from the kitchen. Moments later, her and Percy came in the room with some stuffing, turkey, and mashed potatoes. It was like a Thanksgiving dinner, except it wasn't Thanksgiving and we were eating lunch.

Percy cut up the turkey and started handing out plates. Once everyone was served, he started the small talk.

"So, Rachel, why don't you tell everyone about yourself?" Percy kindly asked. Ugh. This is one conversation I do _not _want to hear.

"Well, I've recently been trying to save the planet. I volunteer at an organization that picks up trash scattered all around neighborhoods. I also regularly donate to the SPCA," Rachel said. "In case you didn't know already, my father is very rich. He travels a lot, and to my dismay, pollutes the planet while doing so. I try convincing him to use his money on better things, like donating, but he does otherwise." Wow. Like everyone's believing that crap.

"Wow, that's amazing!" Thalia said, buying Rachel's lies. Everyone else at the table (*ahem* NOT ME) nodded like it was the best thing in the world. Rachel proudly smiled and glanced at Percy.

Throughout this whole conversation, I didn't say one word. I barely even listened to Rachel's boasting. I had one certain thought on my mind.

_Time to show your true colors, Rachel._

And I had the _perfect _plan for that to work.

**Once again, if you have any unanswered questions, either PM me or write it in a review! School's almost over for me (Wednesday)! You luckies whose school already ended.**

**- starglow13**


	5. When Going Gets Tough, Tough Gets Going

**Woo hoo! School ended for me today! No school = more updates! Oh, and if I do go on vacation over the summer, (I think I'll be going for three days sometime this summer) I'll let you know when. Thanks to Athena's Owlet24, DaughterofHades101, and AnnabethChaserocks for reviewing! Here are my replies:**

**Athena's Owlet24: Ha, you know it!**

**DaughterofHades101: I feel your sympathy. But, when your next school year starts earlier than mine, I'll still be on summer vacation! xD**

**AnnabethChaserocks: Haha! I'll regularly reply to reviews, so try not to throw your iPod across the room!**

**Wow, 21 reviews! Thanks so much for all of those reviewers. I'll stop rambling now, so you can read this next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Did you know Rebecca Black took the 'Friday' music video off of youtube – oh, right. Me me me no own PJO. (Get it? Lyrics to 'Friday': We we we so excited.)**

**Chapter 5: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Gets Going (Sorry I had to leave some words out when I labeled this chapter, I couldn't fit everything.)**

**LITTLE QUOTE:**

_I'll never forget the first time we met, although, I'll keep trying._

~ Annabeth Chase's feelings about Rachel Elizabeth Dare

0oOo0oOo0o

Yea, I already know what you're going to tell me. Revenge is not the answer, I don't need to stoop down to her level, be the bigger person, the past is the past, blah, blah, and blah.

Unfortunately, I don't believe in taking the 'easy route' down memory lane. I'm one who _never_ forgets when someone makes my life miserable. No one makes a fool out of me, without receiving retribution.

Besides, my plan consisted of three simple and (non-logical, might I add) phases, and if it doesn't work out, I have _lots_ more coming for Rachel.

0oOo0oOo0o

"I just don't see how you despise Rachel," Thalia started, "I mean, she seems like a really nice woman." She licked her chocolate ice cream cone. Thalia and I had decided to go to Frosty Treats – a local ice cream shop. We were currently sitting at one of the small round brown tables located outside of the tiny shop.

"We've been over this a billion times, Thalia," I said, not too thrilled.

"Yea, but revenge isn't really the answer to your problems. Treat people the way you want to be treated," Thalia told me, actually abiding by 'The Golden Rule'.

"Thals, it's more complicated than that! Anyway, did you get the dye?" I asked Thalia, changing the subject, with a mischievous glint in my eyes.

Thalia sighed. "Yea. It's in the house on the kitchen table." By this point, a sly smile was plastered onto my face.

"Let's go!" I finished my ice-cream cone and held Thalia by the forearm. She quickly finished her ice-cream and threw it in the garbage can.

The next thing I knew, we were in Thalia's car, driving to her house.

A couple minutes later, we arrived at Thalia's place. I raced into her house, ran into the cream colored kitchen, and grabbed the olive-green hair dye. I remembered long ago (when Rachel and I were friends) that Rachel told me that one of her least favorite colors was olive-green.

"What do I have to do again?" Thalia asked me, raising an eyebrow.

Her part was simple. "You somehow lead Rachel and Percy out of Percy's house. I don't care if you take them to a movie or anything of the sort – just make sure they're out of the house," I told her. She nodded and motioned to the front door of her house. I walked outside, over to Thalia's car. I got in the passenger's seat, waiting for Thalia to hop into the driver's seat.

Eventually, Thalia had driven us to Percy's house.

"Now, you go to the front door and collect Rachel and Percy while I hide behind the side of their house. Bring them somewhere. Once you drive away, I'll continue the plan. I have the dye right here," I told Thalia. She, once again, nodded and walked out of the car. I followed, but instead of going up to the front door where Thalia was headed, hid behind the side of Percy's house.

I heard the doorbell ring.

"Hello, Thalia! What brings you here?" Rachel said. She must've been the one who answered the door. I faked a disgusted look, even if no one could see me.

"Oh, nothing, really. I was just wondering if you and Percy wanted to hang out. Maybe catch a movie or something," Thalia suggested.

"Uhh, sure, where?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know, the Movie Cinema?" Thalia said. After that, I only heard the shuffling of footsteps, Rachel calling Percy, and a door slamming shut.

"That was nice of you to invite us out, Thalia," I heard Percy's voice.

"No problem," Thalia said. I poked my head out and saw Thalia taking Percy and Rachel to her car. Minutes later, everyone was strapped in and Thalia sped away to the movie theater.

I took this as my cue to begin. I carefully walked to the front of Percy's house. I tried opening the door, but it was locked.

How could I be so stupid? I sighed. It was evident that I had failed.

_Don't give up so quickly! _ The stubborn side of my brain argued. I thought. Where would I keep my house keys if I was a Seaweed Brain like Percy?

I glanced at the lush green plant that was calling my name next to me. I moved some of the leaves out of the way, until I found a silver key. I grabbed the key and (successfully) opened the front door.

I smirked. Who keeps the extra key to their house in a plant? Seaweed Brain.

I threw the key back in the pot of dirt. I quickly got into the house and closed the door behind me. I scanned my surroundings. There were pictures of Rachel, Percy, and their relatives all over the walls. I hadn't noticed all of the pretty vases filled with roses when I came here before.

I carefully walked up the smooth carpeted stairs. When I got upstairs, I saw four rooms. To my left was a bathroom, to my right was a master bedroom, and the remaining rooms were just filled with stacks of belongings. I headed to my left, clutching the olive-green hair dye.

The bathroom was relatively small. It had two sinks, a toilet, a shower, a mirror, and a cabinet above the sinks. I discreetly walked towards the shower. Even if nobody was home, it's better to be safe than sorry.

I slid the shower glass door to my left, revealing shampoo bottles, soap, and the shower nozzle.

I picked up one of the shampoo bottles. There were two bottles in all. One of the caps had a 'P' labeled on it, while the other cap was labeled with an 'R'. Being the intellectual that I am, I figured that 'R' probably meant Rachel, while 'P' meant Percy.

Suddenly, I heard faint yelling noises and the downstairs door shutting closed. Momentarily surprise, I dropped both shampoo bottles, but managed to keep hold of the hair dye. Both of the shampoo caps came off, revealing a green gooey mess. I quickly grabbed both empty bottles, set them on the counter, and took the olive-green hair dye that matched the color of the shampoo. I dumped some water in one shampoo bottle, hoping that there was still a little shampoo left that could mix with the water – creating new shampoo -, and filled the other shampoo bottle with green hair dye. Next I secured the caps back onto each bottle. I then placed the bottles back into the shower. I managed to do this in record timing.

Carefully, I turned off the bathroom light, so no one could see the light seeping through the door crack if they came upstairs.

A few minutes passed, and finally, I heard the front door slam shut. I scurried downstairs and out the door. I looked around a bit, making sure no one saw me exit the house.

The coast was clear.

On that happy note, I started walking back to Thalia's house.

**Well, Annabeth sure has it in for her… Stay tuned to see what happens next!**

**- starglow13**


	6. AUTHOR'S NOTE!

**Hi guys. Sadly, this is just an Author's note. I'm really sorry. I was going to associate a chapter with this, but I got sidetracked and I now have a huge case of writer's block... and it's 1:30 in the morning. Anyways, I just want to say that I'm going on vacation on Thursday to North Carolina. I'm staying there until the following Saturday (so that's ten days.) From there, I'm driving to Connecticut and staying there for a day or two. Then I'm driving back to New York… **

**Huh, I'll be driving for countless hours with an annoying twin sister beside me. This oughta be fun. Also, I probably won't be able to update. I'll be enjoying my vacation while I have it…**

**Thanks to Skywriter5, anakins11, I'm A Weirdo Deal With It, Tratieluver14, and SeaOfWisdom18.**

**You guys inspire me to keep writing! **

**- starglow13**


	7. Nothing Can Be Better Than This

**Sorry for the lengthy update! I got back from vacation a few days ago, but was suffering from writer's block. Now, this chapter took me FOREVER. I had to do so much research. I didn't proofread it or anything, and I tried to write the beginning fast. Sorry for terrible quality.**

**Reviews are going good! Thanks to Skywriter5, Unhr25, anakins11, furgil12, and percylover3579! I did have fun on vacation! Oh, and this chapter exceeding 1,000 words! I know that's not a lot, but I've been doing short chapters lately for all of my stories.**

**Chapter 6: Nothing Could Be Better Than This**

"Hey Thals," I huffed, exhausted from my hard work. Thalia was sitting down at the living room table, drinking hot chocolate.

"Why so tired?" she asked me.

"Well, it was hard work to strategize my plan, and even harder work to commence it. I had to be _very_ stealthy and discreet."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "But no one was home and all you had to do was pour the green dye into a shampoo bottle. Sounds simple enough to me," she said.

I sighed. "It sounded simpler on paper. Someone came back into the house, so I had to be very quiet. Then the shampoo spilled."

"Oh yea, Rachel forgot her purse and she insisted on paying for the tickets, so she went back home. Sweet girl she is," Thalia told me. Yea right.

"Anyway, why are you back so early? The plan didn't take long, and movies are usually a little over two hours," I questioned.

Thalia rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "About that…" she started, "umm, I kinda' got us kicked out of the movie theater." She looked ashamed.

I laughed. "How did you get kicked out?"

"Well, we went to see an action movie. I get pretty excited during those. The good guy was just about to kill one of the bad guys, but he kept missing. Without thinking, I stood up and shouted, "Fight like a man and sock him already!" and other things to go with that," she explained.

"Sounds like you."

There was a moment of comfortable silence, until Thalia asked, "So when will you see your plan results?"

"Once Rachel lathers the 'shampoo' into her hair, her hair will immediately begin to turn green. The olive-green hair dye stays for three days, and then it washes out. So maybe I could treat everyone to dinner or lunch tomorrow at a fancy restaurant. I saved lots of money staying at your house, Thals," I answered.

"I see. You don't need to pay the bill at the restaurant. I won't mind doing that," Thalia said.

I told her, "No. I'll do it, I don't mind."

"No, I'll do it!"

"I'll do it!" Our calm conversation became a shouting match.

"Please let me, Annabeth!" Thalia pleaded.

I sighed. "We'll split it."

"Fine," Thalia agreed.

"But, I'll leave the tip," I said, staring intently at Thalia with pleading eyes.

Thalia groaned. "Whatever. So, how 'bout we go sightseeing? You wanted to do that earlier, didn't you?" she said.

"Yea, but then you forced me to go to Percy's house. Where do you have in mind?" I questioned.

"The Empire State Building. It's really pretty at night. Everything is. Just imagine the breathtakingly beautiful lights in the rigid skyscrapers that tower up. Imagine the stars in the dark moonlit sky. You should really see it sometime," Thalia said, giving a small dreamy sigh.

I painted a picture in my head while Thalia was describing the city at night. It sure sounded astonishing. I'd love to see it sometime. "Why not see it tonight? It's," I paused, looking at the clock on the wall, "7:35 PM. We could go up into the Empire State Building and look out the windows, which would give us a perfect view of the city. By the time we're up there, it'll be dark out."

Thalia smiled. "Let's go." She got up and walked to her car. I followed her, got into the car, and listened to the radio as Thalia drove off.

We passed skyscrapers, houses, apartments, small buildings, grocery stores, etc., until we finally reached the Empire State Building.

I halted. I could definitely see how the Empire State Building needed over 3,400 workers so it could be completed, and cost over 40,000,000 dollars to build. It has 85 stories, and the base of the building looked to be around 2 acres (8,094 m2). The exterior of the building looked as if it were built using Indiana limestone panels. All in all, it was beautiful.

"How tall is it?" Thalia asked. That snapped me out of my trance.

"Its full height reaches over 1,453 feet (443 m, I think). It has 85 stories, and as of today, has 73 elevators. Including service elevators," I responded. I'm an Architect, what can I say?

"Wow. How do you memorize that?"

I pondered that. "Big brains have lots of space for extra information." I began walking toward the Empire State Building.

"The 86th floor is observation deck," I told Thalia. If we wanted to see the city at night, the observation deck would be the best place.

"Let's use this elevator," Thalia said. I walked up to where she was and pressed the UP button on the elevator. One minute later, an empty elevator door opened. Thalia and I walked in.

I walked up and pressed the 80th floor button. The elevator door shut and started going upward.

Classical music flooded my ears (A/N: I don't know if there really is elevator music. But, every other fact Annabeth said is true!). I groaned. Just my luck.

About one minute later, the elevator door opened, revealing the 80th floor.

"That was fast, considering we just went up 80 flights," I told Thalia.

She chuckled. "It's certainly faster than my old apartment's elevators. Those took one minute for each floor you went up."

I smiled. "So, do you want to take the elevator again or the stairs?"

"Although I'm feeling lazy, I choose stairs. I can't bear to hear that stupid classical music (A/N: Sorry if you like classical music.)!"

"I agree," I sighed, relieved. Plus, the stairs were good exercise.

Thalia walked towards the flights of stairs, with me following suit. It took about three minutes to reach the 86th floor.

"We're here," I told Thalia.

"Great! Come on, let's go to the outside observation deck and get an amazing view of the night," she said. I nodded and followed Thalia.

I slid open the door to the observation deck and walked out. Thalia came moments later.

"It's beautiful," I breathed.

"Sure is," Thalia sighed, once again, dreamily.

Lights lit the moonlit sky, while signs flashed an array of colors. It seemed as if one million tubes of glitter were sprinkled upon the sky and the buildings. In my dictionary, the scene is described as one word. Perfect. It was truly breathtakingly beautiful.

Honestly, nothing could be better than this.

**Last chapter I told you to stay tuned and find out what happens with Annabeth, but that didn't go as planned.**

**So, stay tuned and finds out what happens to Annabeth in the NEXT chapter!**

**Thanks to the readers and reviewers!**

**- starglow13**


	8. Distressed Girls and French Restaurants

**Hey, sorry for the REALLY SHORT chapter. I've been busy with my other story, The Son of Neptune. Plus, my sister took the computer from me while I was trying to write this, so it should've been posted a lot earlier than it was. I also forgot the disclaimer in last chapter, so I'll do it in this one. Oh, and I don't know why, but I just LOVE writing Percabeth scenes. You guys will have to wait a little bit, though.**

**Thanks to BlackConverse24, ObSesSeDwIthMBAV77, Hailey W, and percabethjiper!**

**I loved every single review! Here are the replies:**

**BlackConverse24: Yea, go Percabeth! The Percabeth will be in later chapters, though. Hang in there! For now, you can watch Annabeth commence her unintelligent plans! **

**ObSesSeDwIthMBAV77: I know, I agree with you 100 %. Speaking of murdering Bieber…I'll have to get back to you on that :D**

**Hailey W: Yes, there is Percabeth in this! It'll be in later chapters. And between you, me, and everyone else who is reading this extremely long A/N, Annabeth is going to realize she likes Percy soon! I don't know when, but hopefully soon!**

**Percabethjiper: I loved your review! You're awesome (and so is everybody else reading this) for reading this! I'll finish TSON, there's no way I'd just give up on a story like that.**

**On with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

**Chapter 7: Distressed Girls and French Restaurants**

Okay, maybe I spoke too soon when I said, "Nothing could be better than this," yesterday at the Empire State Building. Because seeing the look on Rachel's face when her hair is dyed olive-green is way up there on my scale of 'Memorable Moments'. And, hopefully, I would get to see that moment tonight.

"Thalia, what are some good fancy restaurants to eat at?" I called from the study room. I wanted to eat at a popular fancy restaurant, but fancy restaurants are usually expensive.

"Um, what about _La Poivre_?" Thalia shouted from the room next door. Hmm, sounds French.

_La Poivre_… I pulled out my laptop, ready to search the restaurant.

_The light ceramic building is inspired by a fancy Paris restaurant and features an interior scene, with great service._

"Sounds good!" I yelled to Thalia, closing my laptop.

"Great," Thalia said, walking from the room next door into the study.

"You wanna' call them?" Thalia asked, eyebrows raised. By them, she meant Percy and Rachel.

"It'd be my pleasure," I said, grinning. I pulled out my cell phone, dialing Percy's house number.

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

"Hello?" a very distressed Rachel answered. So far so good.

"Hey Rachel," I said, "Would you like me to take Percy and you out to dinner tonight? My treat." Oh, this was going to be good.

"Umm, you see-" Rachel was cut off by arguing in the background.

"Annabeth?" Percy's voice spoke.

"Oh, hey. I just asked Rachel if you'd like me to take you guy's out to dinner, my treat."

"One second," Percy said. I heard some noises in the background, once again. I could only decipher a few words: Don't, want, and public.

"We'd love to," Rachel's voice came back on.

"Umm, okay. Meet Thalia and me at La Poivre at around 5:00. Sound good? Oh, and wear fancy clothes." I was getting a little confused, since Rachel kept switching the phone with Percy.

"Ugh, whatever. Bye," Rachel said, hanging up. I could tell that she was alone, because she probably wouldn't have been that rude if Percy was on her tail.

"Phase three complete," I told Thalia.

Thalia sighed. "Rachel actually agreed to come? Even when her hair is olive-green?" she skeptically asked.

"Well, there was some arguing in the background, but Rachel was the one that agreed to go," I told her.

"Doesn't that sound a little…strange?"

"What? That Rachel agreed to it?"

"Yea," Thalia said, still skeptic.

"Well, maybe Percy was convincing her when they were arguing," I told her.

"Yea, but-" Thalia started.

"We'll find out at the restaurant. It's unlikely that my plan failed," I said, tired of answering her questions.

"But it's possible," Thalia chuckled. She's a stubborn one.

"Anyway, it's 1:00. We're supposed to be at the restaurant at 5:00. What do you want to do in the meantime?" I changed the subject.

"How about we see a movie?" Thalia suggested.

"Sounds good to me." I grabbed my purse, and walked out to Thalia's car.

I can't wait to see the look on Rachel's face when she struts into the fancy restaurant. She'll be the only person with olive-green hair.


	9. Plan Gone Wrong

**So sorry for the lengthy update! I hope you all are happy, because this took me over 2 hours! It was 1,485 words, too. Thanks to AnnabethChaserocks, Tratieluver14-the girl on fire (x2), percabethjiper, LetterstoLondon, klydo, lauroca98, LOVEPercabethOrElse (x2), PercabethFanatic, JennaReads, PJatO98, and Athena's Owlet24!**

**For those of you who guessed, Annabeth's plan did go wrong… Responses to reviews!**

**JennaReads: Thanks! I am planning on making future PJO fics!**

**LOVEPercabethOrElse: I hate Perachel too! Don't worry, this is a Percabeth story. Just a few more chapters 'till Annabeth realizes...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, or You Again!**

**Chapter 8: Plan Gone Wrong**

Gun shots sounded in the distance.

"Duck and cover!" a man shouted. A bomb exploded, wiping out many zombies.

A zombie came up behind one of the fighters, ready to attack.

_Crack!_

The zombie stepped on a branch. The fighter whirled around and hit the zombie in the head with the hilt of the gun. The zombie then collapsed.

"Shoot him already!" the voice of a fellow fighter shouted in the distance.

The man that hit the zombie with the hilt of the gun aimed the gun at the zombie's forehead. He then pulled the trigger, sending blood as red as a tomato everywhere.

You see, this was Thalia's idea of a movie. An action-slash-horror movie about how the human race needed to wipe out the zombies.

"Is this almost over?" I asked Thalia, whose eyes were glued to the screen.

"Almost," she responded.

I sighed. This has been going on for about three hours. No wonder the movie critics rated this movie two stars.

I tried tuning out the gun shots and shouting of people from the big screen as I thought about my plan.

It had to work.

If it didn't, Percy might not realize how arrogant and vain Rachel is. She might emotionally hurt him.

I couldn't let that happen.

0oOo0oOo0o

"Wow! That was freaking amazing!" Thalia exclaimed. I didn't really like the movie. In the end, more zombies had been growing from the Earth. They almost defeated the human race, and just as the human race was about to give up hope, a man that always stayed in the shadows stepped up. He defeated the zombies with the rest of the people. The only problem was: two zombies escaped. The rest was a blur to me.

I shrugged.

"You didn't like it?" Thalia asked disbelievingly.

"It just wasn't my type of movie," I told her, "But I'm glad you liked it."

"Yea. Anyways, do you know what time it is?"

I checked my watch. "4:00," I answered. Wow. That movie was three hours long.

"How long of a drive is it to go to La Poivre from here?" I asked.

"Around 20 minutes," Thalia said.

"Okay, then we should leave around 4:15. It's rush hour," I said.

"Got it. So, about the plan…" Thalia trailed off.

"What about it?" I asked.

"What if it doesn't work?"

"It has to work! Percy needs to realize how arrogant Rachel is! She might hurt him emotionally by doing something drastic, like-" I ranted.

"Relax, Annabeth. Besides, Rachel seems like a really nice woman. She's eco-friendly, helpful, and good-natured," Thalia said.

"Yea, _seems_. She's not what she seems to be, Thalia. And I can't let Rachel hurt Percy, in any way," I said.

"Someone's being _very_ protective of Percy," Thalia teased.

"He's just a really good friend. I mean, he's getting married to the devil! Wouldn't you be protective too, if it was someone that you've known since a young age, and someone that you care for?" I said.

"I suppose," Thalia said.

"Come on, there's no harm in leaving a little before 4:15," I said. The clock read 4:09.

We walked to Thalia's dark blue car. I got in the passenger seat, while Thalia got in the driver's seat.

"Wait, we need to go back to your house to change into some fancy clothes," I said. The restaurant was relatively fancy.

Thalia rushed to her house. We changed quickly. I changed into a dark gray blouse and black pants.

"I'm done!" I shouted, walking out of Thalia's bathroom. Thalia had changed in her room. She was wearing a dark blue shirt with dark black pants.

We got back into Thalia's car, heading towards La Poivre.

The first 15 minutes of the car ride was pretty silent.

"So," Thalia said, trying to start a conversation.

"So when do you start work?" I asked. Like I mentioned before, Thalia had willingly taken off work for a week, so I could get comfortable living in her house for two months.

"On Tuesday. So far, it's been three days," I said.

The rest of the car ride consisted of Thalia and me making small talk.

"We're here," Thalia parked in the parking lot.

"Great," I said, stepping out of the car. A cream-colored building stood in front of me.

We walked through the grand doors.

"Reservation for four," Thalia told the man at the podium.

"Zast name please?" he said in a French accent.

"Grace," she said. Thalia had made the reservation, but we had agreed to share the bill.

"Right zis way," the man said. He lead us to a booth. It was big enough for three people on each side.

"We have two other people coming. If you see a girl with freckles, green eyes, and frizzy hair with a man with sea-green eyes and black hair please lead them here," Thalia said. The reason she didn't describe Rachel with 'frizzy red hair' was because she might have olive-green hair.

"Sure thing," the man (whose name was Paul, I read his name tag) said, nodding. He walked back to his podium in the front of the restaurant.

Hours passed and our waitress/waiter still didn't come. Neither did Rachel and Percy.

Maybe I'm exaggerating when I say 'hours'. It's only been minutes. Curse this ADHD.

"Thals, what time is it?" I asked.

"You're the one with the watch," she said. Oh, right.

I checked my watch. "4:50," I said.

"Do you hear that?" Thalia asked me a couple of minutes later.

"Hear what?" I asked.

"Shh, listen. There's arguing up front," she said. Sure enough, I heard the voices of two men arguing up front.

"Hey….that voice belongs to-" Thalia started.

"Percy!" I interrupted. "Let's go check it out." Thalia and I got up from our booth and walked to the front of the restaurant.

"Sir, you must take your hat off. No hats allowed in ze restaurant," Paul said in his French accent.

"Well, they should really allow it! I mean, it's just an extra piece of clothing. Next thing you know, it'll be, 'NO PANTS ALLOWED!'," Percy argued.

"You take off the hat, or leave," Paul said.

"Percy, just take off the hat," Thalia said. By this point, a small crowd had surrounded them.

"Where's Rachel?" I asked Percy, ignoring the hat arguing.

"She should be here soon," he said.

As if on cue, Rachel came bursting through the doors. She was wearing a short pink leopard printed dress, big golden hoop earrings, gold chains around her neck, and black boots. She went a little overboard with the 'fancy' concept.

The only thing that was missing on Rachel was the olive-green hair…

Which means…

Before I could conclude anything, Percy pulled off his hat, revealing his messy black hair.

Scratch that. I _wish_ it were his messy black hair. Instead, it was his messy olive-green hair.

"B-but, um, how could this?" I stuttered. Thalia and I shared a glance. I had put the olive-green hair dye in Rachel's shampoo bottle, but I switched the caps, so Percy's cap was the one with the hair dye.

A couple of people stared at Percy's hair.

"What, is it not normal for someone to have green hair?" he asked.

"Well, at zeast he took off the hat," Paul muttered, "I hate zis job." He then proceeded to lead us to the booth Thalia and I left unattended.

Thalia sat next to me on one side, while Percy sat next to Rachel on the other.

"So…how did this happen?" Thalia asked Percy. She knew how that happened!

I suddenly felt _very_ uncomfortable with Rachel staring me down.

"I don't know, I took a shower today and when I got out my hair was green. Funny thing is, I don't have any green hair-dye at my house. Rachel doesn't have any, either," Percy said.

"Ha…well, funny things happen. I'm sure you'll laugh about this years from now," I said.

All of a sudden, a waitress came to our table.

"Hello, my name is Tammi, I'll be your waitress today! What would ya'll like to eat?" she asked. She had icy blue eyes and blonde wavy hair. She seems…happy.

"I'll take a coke," Thalia said.

"Water," I said.

"Add another water," Percy said.

"Iced tea, please," Rachel told Tammi.

"Got it. I'll be back with your drinks," Tammi said.

"Thank you," I thanked her.

A couple of minutes passed until Tammi came back with our drinks.

"Thanks," Thalia said when she handed every one of us our drink.

"No problem. Are you ready to order?"

"We need a few more minutes," I said. Tammi nodded and walked away.

I checked the menu. I'm going for something healthy…and cheap.

Caesar salad sounds good.

I waited for the waitress while Percy and Rachel argued over their food.

I can't believe my plan went wrong.

The fates sure do hate me.


	10. Accidents

**Okay, so the reason I haven't been updating is not because I've been neglecting this story! It's because I've been super busy. Thanks to Skywriter5, percyjacksonlover3, LOVEPercabethOrElse, percabethjiper, JennaReads, Tratieluver14-the girl on fire, AnnabethCaserocks, klydo, readingrox, and DoubleStuffedOreoFellow.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own some of the quotes from You Again or PJO.**

**Chapter 9: Accidents**

"But this one is cheaper!" Percy argued with Rachel.

"Yea, but this one's tastier!" Rachel argued back. Right now we were in the French restaurant, listening to Rachel and Percy's arguing about what to choose on the menu.

"I'd say to get the cheaper one, Rachel," Thalia chimed in. Rachel shot her a glance, as if to say, "You're not a part of this, so stay out of this!"

"Just choose what you like, I'll take care of the bill," I said. Before anyone could argue about that, Tammi came over to our table.

"Ya'll ready to order?" she asked. If you listen intently, you can tell that Tammi has a slight southern accent.

"Yes!" Rachel said, impatiently. "I'll have the Portobello Mushroom." I glanced at my menu, reading what the 'Portobello Mushroom' was made with.

_Jumbo grilled Portobello mushroom seasoned with Herbes de Provence, topped with roasted red peppers, swiss cheese, and ailoli._

Hmm. It probably would've sounded good if it weren't a whooping $16.99(I think that would be £10.36 for people in the UK).

"I'll have the Turkey Pesto," Thalia ordered. I checked the menu again and read what the Turkey Pesto had.

_Thin sliced baked turkey with pickled red onions, lettuce, tomato, and fresh basil pesto on a baguette._

I guess the price was a little better with $8.99(£5.48).

"And you?" Tammi asked, looking at me. I was waiting for Percy to go first, but he was still scanning the menu.

"I'll have the Salade De Couscous, please," I told her. The Salade De Couscous read: _Couscous salad with chickpeas, golden raisins, scallions and grilled tempeh with a cilantro yogurt dressing._

I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu. It was only $4.99(£3.04). And considering what Thalia and Rachel ordered, that's a good price.

"Go easy on the yogurt dressing, though," I added. Tammi nodded, scribbling down our orders on her note pad.

"And for you?" she looked at Percy.

Percy paused for a moment, before saying, "I'll have the Crepe Saumon Fume." Tammi looked at his hair for a second, then said,

"Great. I'll be back with your orders when they're ready."

Before she could take our menus away, I read what the Crepe Saumon Fume was.

_Smoked salmon, pickled red onions, and gruyere melted in a housemade buckwheat crepe._

Percy was trying to pick something cheap, too, because it was only $5.99(£3.65).

Tammi then swiped my menu from the table, added it to her collection, and walked away with the notepad in her hand.

"You didn't have to order something cheap, you could've gotten what you wanted," I told Percy.

"I did get what I want," he said. I playfully rolled my eyes.

Looking Percy over, he did look striking in that sea-green button down shirt (with the sleeves rolled up) with dark black dress jeans.

In other words, he looked _hot_.

Wait, what am I saying? He's been a good friend since we were kids, nothing more.

I sighed. Our table was looking at me weirdly. Uh-oh, I hope I didn't say that out loud?

"What?" I asked dryly.

"Thalia asked you a question, and you blanked out," Percy replied.

"Oh, sorry. Just thinking."

"Something you're always doing," Rachel muttered, so only I could hear. I narrowed my eyes.

I then put on a cheerful façade and turned to Thalia. "What's that you needed?"

"Nothing, Rachel answered my question," Thalia said, smiling at Rachel. Rachel smiled back. I clenched my teeth and fists.

"Okay."

"So Rachel, what made you move to New York City?" I asked her. I had met her in San Francisco.

"College," she replied. "And I'm so happy I did move here. Because if I didn't, I never would've met Percy-Boo!" She took Percy's hand from under the table and put it on her leg.

"Great," I replied, disgusted.

Everyone was silent. The only noises I heard were from people chatting at other tables and the clinking of pots in the kitchen. Then again, there was the occasional scream in the kitchen.

"It's great that you volunteer at a homeless shelter and donate to the needy," Thalia gushed to Rachel.

"I try to help out as much as possible," Rachel said, sending Thalia a warm smile.

"That's so wonderful!" Thalia said. Yea, like Rachel really is good-natured(note the sarcasm).

"It really is," I say sarcastically, flashing a sarcastic smile.

Rachel clenched her teeth.

"Something wrong?" I sweetly ask her.

She shook her head.

What I really wanted to say was, "You've got a mouth, so use it!" Sadly, I decided against that. I don't want to look bad in front of Per- I mean the others.

"Good."

Thalia chatted with Percy and Rachel about Rachel's 'accomplishments' while I tuned out. Rachel was sitting across from me, so occasionally she would send a menacing smile.

My throat began to get dry. I glanced at my ice-cold glass of water. I took hold of the glass and sipped the liquid.

"I hate water," Rachel stopped in the middle of her conversation about endangered animals and looked at me.

"Just because you hate it doesn't mean I can't drink it," I said, shrugging. I casually sipped the water.

She shivered in disgust and went back to her conversation.

Honestly, I couldn't see how someone could hate water. It has a neutral taste, so you can't really hate it, but you can't really love it. You also use water to make different foods and drinks, and I can't see someone saying, "Ew! There's water in my food!" You can't taste the water in the food, if that makes any sense.

I suddenly had an idea. I could pelt water balloons at Rachel- no, never mind. I could dump water all over her using the element of surprise…yes!

I threw my hands in the air, symbolizing victory. Although no one knew how I had succeeded to do something.

Suddenly, Rachel let out a deafening scream. I glanced at her. Uh-oh.

"Haha! She had an accident!" Paul (the French guy) shouted from his podium up front.

"I did not have an accident!" Rachel shouted. Looks like the real her has come out of the cave. "This nitwit spilled her water all over me!"

"Rachel, it was an accident," Percy stepped in.

"Yea right!" she softened up. "Think about it. Annabeth's hated me since I came here. She suddenly appears, and your hair gets dyed green. Water is spilled all over me. Who do you think caused the trouble?"

"It really was an accident!" I said, no hint of lies. I didn't mean to spill my water all over her, but thinking back to when I made that plan with dumping water all over her using the element of surprise, the spilling my water on her incident sounded better.

"Is that true?" Percy said, voice lowered.

"Well," I thought about making up some excuse, but then no one would trust me. Curse Rachel. "yes. But I have a perfectly good reason to dislike Rachel!"

"Reasons aren't good enough. I didn't know you would stoop that low. I guess…I just don't know you anymore," Percy said sadly, standing up from our booth. He then escorted Rachel out of the restaurant, without sending one glance backwards.

"Nice going," Thalia said.

Looks like I've tangled myself in some big ball of yarn.

**Paul: Haha! You will have a hard time untangling yourself!**


	11. It's Good To Try New Things

**Hey guys! This would've been up much earlier, but I had to go a bunch of places today so I never got to finish the chapter. I finished it sitting in the parking lot of Wegmans. You can thank me for this extra-long chapter! It was lots of fun to write! Thanks to TR, SofiaRox, ME N NICO FOREVA, Tratieluver14-the girl on fire, BlackConverse24, klydo, PercabethFanatic, jamieeeeeee, and CUPCAKELORD. Responses to reviews are at the bottom for some reason!  
>Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or the songs I wrote in here.<strong>

**Chapter 10: It's Good To Try New Things**

I inwardly sighed. Everyone in the restaurant had their nosy little heads pointed in my direction.

Thalia looked at me, seeing how uncomfortable I was. She told them, "Go back to eating your food!" Then glared. The nosy people immediately went back to their business after Thalia's death glare. Thalia looked at me with an expression of pity.

"I messed up, Thals." I really did. Now I won't get to finish my revenge on Rachel(not that I want to during these circumstances.) _and_ I lost a friend(Percy).

"Well, since it was _your_ fault, _you _should fix it," Thalia supplied.

"It wasn't my fault!" I said. I honestly didn't mean to spill the water on her. I guess Percy would've found out about my scheming schemes(A/N: Lol.) anyway, though.

Thalia raised her eyebrows skeptically. She then said, "Yes, it was. Who was the mastermind behind those plots? Who was the one that spilled water on Rachel? Who was the one that-"

"Alright, I get it!" I interrupted her. "But who was the one that bought me the olive-green hair dye?" I gave her a taste of her own medicine.

Thalia smiled. "You pressured me into doing it! Notice that has the word you in it!" I laughed. Thalia's expression turned back to serious. "Really. All of it was your fault, and you know it." Wow. Nice friend I have there.

"Maybe if Rachel hadn't been such a bitch in high school things would've been different," I muttered, defending myself. There's always a group of nasty, lying, gossiping girls that rule the high school. Rachel didn't start off that way, in fact, she was my friend at first. My only friend. The friend who knew every secret about me. But she betrayed me sophomore year by hanging out with some of the people who think the world revolves around them, and she turned into one. She even started dating my all-time crush, Luke Castellan. I'm pretty sure she did that just to make me jealous, because she told me she liked some other football player before she moved to the dark side. Rachel even used my weaknesses against me in nasty pranks. I haven't forgiven her since. Anyways, my point is, Rachel was the one that triggered the schemes I've pulled.

"Rachel couldn't have been _that_ torturous and selfish. I mean, look at her! She donates to the needy, volunteers at homeless shelters, _and_ helps the SPCA!" Thalia said. "Percy really did score big time."

Thalia struck a nerve. Fuming, I said, "You really believe that crap? Rachel does nothing of the sort! She's lying! Learn the word, and if you don't know it, look in the freaking dictionary!" Thalia blankly stared at me, shaking her head. I suddenly felt a surge of guilt that I lashed out at her.

"You know, Percy _was_ right. You really have changed. Make that two people who don't know you anymore." With that, she got up from the booth, walked to the grand doors up front, and left, slamming the doors on her way out.

I rested my head on my hands, until I heard someone clear their throat. I looked up, hoping it would be Thalia.

Unfortunately, it was just Tammi, the waitress, who carried four heaping plates of food. "Did you hear any of that?" I asked her. She just nodded her head, sadly, then set the food on the table. She asked me if I needed anything, also. When I politely told her no, she left. I really didn't feel like eating anymore, I lost my appetite.

I looked at all four plates of food. The meals were meant for two people each. How am I going to finish this eight-person meal, when I'm not even hungry? I guess I'll just eat as much as I can, until my stomach explodes. So, if I'm going to eat _something_, there's no point in wasting the expensive dish, so I decided to eat Rachel's Portobello Mushroom.

I took a nearby fork and stabbed the big mushroom. I then grabbed a knife and cut a piece of the mushroom, angrily shoving it into my mouth. I continued the routine until I ate all of Rachel's dish. I could practically feel my stomach protruding outward.

"Are you finished?" Tammi appeared in front of me.

"Yea. If I eat another bite I'll explode!" I responded. Tammi smiled.

"Would you like a bag for your leftovers?" she asked.

"Sure." Tammi left to get some Styrofoam containers. Maybe Thalia will like the extra food and forgive me. Huh. Things probably don't work that way.

Tammi walked back to the table and placed three Styrofoam containers(A/N: I forgot what those were called, sorry!)on the table.

"Thanks," I told her. She just nodded and gave me the bill. I pushed the leftover food into a container and closed it shut. Once I finished, I filled out the bill, placed my credit card in the little pocket where the bill was being held, and left a five-dollar tip. Tammi appeared moments later to collect the bill.

I waited for Tammi to come back with my credit card, tapping my foot under the table. My thoughts wandered to Percy. The way he looked at me when he said, "Reason's aren't good enough. I didn't know you would stoop that low. I guess…I just don't know you anymore" was unforgettable. Those sad sea-green eyes, his frowning lips. The way his messy olive-green hair covered his eyes when he looked down. The way he escorted Rachel out of the restaurant, leaving Thalia and me.

"Miss?" Tammi said, snapping me out of my thoughts. She placed my credit card back onto the table.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem," Tammi replied, smiling sweetly. I got up from the booth and checked my watch. 7:30. I'd been there for over two hours. I took the Styrofoam containers with the leftovers and walked to the grand front doors of the restaurant. I then left the restaurant, unaware of where to go. It would be a really long walk back to Thalia's house, considering it was 30 minutes by car to get here. I didn't see any taxi around…

I found myself walking forward, unaware of my destination. I looked both ways before I walked across the street. Maybe I could hitch hike…

I raised my thumb, waiting for some kind-hearted soul(Or some nasty old man who kidnaps young women). Unfortunately, the most I got was a man who looked at me, rolled down his car window, laughed(spitting in my face during that process), and gave me two thumbs up. Then he sped away, definitely exceeding the speed limit.

I probably stood there, dumfounded, for about three minutes, until someone tapped my shoulder. I slowly turned around. It was just a man with a long scraggly white beard, a balding head, and crooked teeth. He barely wore any clothes. Immediately, I knew the man was homeless.

"Got any food?" he asked me in a croaky voice. I looked down at my leftovers. Sighing, I handed all three containers to him.

He looked at me for a minute, then opened the containers. He dug into it with his dirty hands and fingernails.

I stood there, watching the man eat. He didn't even look grateful, and he didn't say thank you. After a couple of seconds standing there, I walked away, still unaware of where my feet were taking me.

I looked up at the night sky. The stars looked like they formed a big smiley face. I huffed.

It felt like hours until I finally reached a lit up building, although it was probably just one hour. There was a huge sign on the building that read 'Charcoal House'. The letters were lit up in red.

Seeing that there was no place else to go, I walked right into the Charcoal House. To my left, there was a bar, filled with empty stools. In front of me was a big stage with a microphone. Someone was singing We Will Rock You by Queen. To my right, there were tables with chairs, meaning that this was a restaurant, karaoke place, and a bar.

The place was downright hardcore, with everyone dancing and drinking.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked me. She had spiky black hair, big muscles, and tattoos on practically her whole body.

I shook my head and walked closer into the crowd of dancing people. When the person on stage finished singing We Will Rock You, someone bounced onto the stage. He was probably the host.

"That was amazing! Super job!" he praised the woman singing. Once she thanked him and left the stage, the host asked his next question. "Do we have any other takers that want to sing?" No one answered. They just shouted words at the host that I wouldn't like to repeat.

"I will!" a girl shouted from the crowd. She pushed past people to get to the stage. She had a drink in her hand when she walked up the stage.

"Great!" the host said. "What's your name?" He looked at the girl. I could barely see her from this distance. The only thing that stuck out was frizzy red hair…

"Rachel," the girl responded. I rushed to the front of the crowd, analyzing the girl. Frizzy red hair, short pink leopard printed dress, big golden hoop earrings, gold chains around her neck, and black boots. None other than Rachel Elizabeth Dare, my worst enemy. So this is where Percy took her after they ditched La Poivre.

"Okay, Rachel. What would you like to sing today?" the host asked.

Rachel finished the drink that she was holding with one swig and threw the empty glass into the crowd. It shattered against the floor. For some reason, this made the idiotic crowd go wild.

"Only Girl (In The World) by Rihanna!" Rachel shouted. Once again, the crowd cheered. The host left the stage, and a couple of seconds later, the music started playing. Rachel frizzed up her hair (Gosh, it's frizzy enough!) and grabbed the microphone.

"La la la la,

La la la la.

La la la la,

La la la la.

I want you to love me, like I'm a hot ride,

Keep thinkin' of me, doin' what you like.

So boy forget about the world cuz it's gon' be me and you tonight,

I wanna make your bed for ya, then imma make you swallow your pride.

Oh, want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world,

Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love!

Like I'm the only one who knows your heart,

Only girl in the world…

Like I'm the only one that's in command,

Cuz I'm the only one who understands how to make you feel like a man. Yea!

Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world,

Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love.

Like I'm the only one who knows your heart,

Only one…

Want you to take me like a thief in the night,

Hold me like a pillow, make me feel right.

Baby I'll tell you all my secrets that I'm keepin', you can come inside,

And when you enter, you ain't leavin', be my prisoner for the night.

Oh, want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world,

Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love!

Like I'm the only one who knows your heart,

Only girl in the world…

Like I'm the only one that's in command,

Cuz I'm the only one who understands.

Like I'm the only one who knows your heart,

Only one…

Take me for a ride, ride,

Oh baby, take me high, high.

Let me make you first, first,

Make it last all night, night.

Take me for a ride, ride,

Oh baby, take me high, high.

Let me make you first, first,

Make it last all night.

Want you to make me feel like I'm the only girl in the world,

Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love.

Like I'm the only one who knows your heart,

Only girl in the world…

Like I'm the only one that's in command,

Cuz I'm the only one who understands how to make you feel like a man.

Only girl in the world…

Girl in the world…

Only girl in the world…

Girl in the world…" Rachel finished off. The crowd cheered loudly. I wonder if Percy was also in the crowd, cheering his fiancée on, like a good husband would do when he sees his wife singing Rihanna's songs when drinking.

Rachel wasn't totally bad, but some words were slurred. She did okay overall.

The host bounced back onto the stage, shouting, "Listen to the crowd go wild! Great job! Can anyone compete against that?" Basically, he wants another person to compete with Rachel. Everything was silent, you could hear a pin drop. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating.

I didn't think about what I did next. I just did it. "I'll go next," I said, loud enough for the host to hear. People parted the way so I could go through.

"We have our next competitor!" the host said, beaming. "What's your name little lady?"

I suppressed a laugh. "Annabeth," I said. Rachel's eyes were practically bugging out of their sockets. This'll show her who she's messing with.

Rachel stormed off the stage. The host said, "Alright Annabeth, what would you like to sing?"

I thought about this for a moment. Instead, I said, "Surprise me." The crowd went wild, just as they did when Rachel shattered her glass.

The host walked off the stage and started playing the music. I recognized the song as So What by Pink (Or P!nk).

I threw my jacket (A/N: Let's pretend she was wearing one) into the crowd, then grabbed the microphone like Rachel did.

"Na Na Na Na Na Na Na

Na Na Na Na Na Na

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na

Na Na Na Na Na Na

I guess Ijust lost my husband,

I don't know where he went.

So I'm gonna drink my money,

I'm not gonna pay his rent (Nope).

I got a brand new attitude,

And i'm gonna wear it tonight.

I wanna get in trouble,

I wanna start a fight.

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na,

I wanna start a fight.

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na,

I wanna start a fight.

So, so what?

I'm still a rock star,

I got my rock moves.

And I don't need you,

And guess what?

I'm having more fun,

And now that we're done.

I'm gonna show you tonight,

I'm alright, I'm just fine.

And you're a tool,

So, so what?

I am a rockstar,

I got my rock moves.

And I don't want you tonight,

Uh, check my flow, uh.

The waiter just took my table,

And gave to Jessica Simps- Shit!

I guess I'll go sit with drum boy,

At least he'll know how to hit.

What if this song's on the radio,

Then somebody's gonna die.

I'm gonna get in trouble,

My ex will start a fight.

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na,

He's gonna start a fight.

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na,

We're all gonna get in a fight!

So, so what?

I'm still a rock star,

I got my rock moves.

And I don't need you,

And guess what?

I'm having more fun,

And now that we're done.

I'm gonna show you tonight,

I'm alright, I'm just fine.

And you're a tool,

So, so what?

I am a rock star,

I got my rock moves.

And I don't want you tonight.

You weren't there,

You never were.

You weren't all,

But that's not fair.

I gave you life,

I gave my all.

You weren't there,

You let me fall.

So, so what?

I'm still a rock star,

I got my rock moves.

And I don't need you,

And guess what?

I'm having more fun,

And now that we're done (we're done).

I'm gonna show you tonight,

I'm all right(I'm all right),I'm just fine (I'm just fine).

And you're a tool,

So, so what?

I am a rock star,

I got my rock moves.

And i don't want you tonight,

No No, No No.

I don't want you tonight,

You weren't there.

I'm gonna show you tonight,

I'm alright, I'm just fine.

And you're a tool,

So, so what?

I am a rock star,

I got my rock moves.

And I don't want you tonight,

Ba da da da da da, pft!" I finished the song. The crowd cheered wildly. Someone even threw me a rose!

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" the host shouted, running back onto the stage. "Both you girls are winners! This calls for a celebration!" Once he said 'celebration', everybody ran to the bar. I looked at Rachel. She seemed pretty pissed off.

"So what brings you here?" I asked her once I exited the stage.

She looked aggravated and didn't say anything.

"Where's Percy?" I asked her.

She looked even more annoyed and spat, "I don't have to do everything with him. He's not here." She then left to go to the bar. Wonder what's her problem.

I was about to leave the place when someone grabbed my arm. I turned around. It was a muscular man with tattoos and spiky black hair (like the woman up front).

"Before you go, let me buy you a drink," he said.

"No thanks, I don't drink," I said. I only tried the stuff once and it tasted bitter.

"Come on! Just try it! It's good to try new things!" the man dragged me to the bar. KIDNAPPING! HELP!

I gave up. I sat next to Rachel (ironically) on one of the stools.

"Look who came crawling back to me," Rachel said with a smirk.

"Actually, I'm getting a drink," I said. Once again, her eyes looked like they were about to bug out of their sockets.

"You? Annabeth Chase? Goody two-shoes? Drinking? Those words don't go together." God, Rachel's acting as if the world's going to end!

"Yup. And this here man is going to buy me one," I smirked.

"You pressured him into buying you one?" Rachel asked.

"No, he offered to." She looked like she was going to explode.

"Impossible!" she shouted, gesturing towards me. "You're you!"

"Believe what you want," I said, then swiveled the chair towards the bartender.

"What do you want?" the man that offered to buy me a drink asked.

Since I wasn't really educated with alcohol, I told him to surprise me, just like I did for the karaoke. I looked around. People dancing crazily, someone singing off key, and people drinking at the bar.

A couple of moments later, the bartender gave me my drink, and I thanked him and the man that bought me it. Slowly, I pressed the glass to my lips and sipped it.

One word describes it: Ew! I spit it out, left the drink there, and just as I was about to leave, Rachel stopped me.

"Looks like somebody couldn't handle it," she says. Ugh. She caught me.

"I don't like ruining my body at such a young age, so why don't you drink the shit?" I said, shaking her from her grasp. I then walked out of the Charcoal House, still unaware of where to go.

Walking in these heels hurt like hell. Every step I took felt like sharp needles were being impaled into my feet. Groaning, I took the shoes off and held them in my hand. I ran my fingers through my hair.

I finally came to an intersection. I decided to go left.

I spotted a yellow cab a few blocks down. Yes! A taxi! I ran as fast as my sore and blistered feet could take me.

Finally, I reached the taxi.

"Taxi! Taxi!" I shouted, but the driver didn't hear me. She kept driving, picking up the speed. I continued to run. Once I was right next to her window, I banged on it. She looked at me for a moment, then rolled the window down.

"What?" she asked, irritated.

"Could you take me to my friend's house?" I asked her.

"That depends where your friend's house is!" she said, still annoyed. I told her the address. "Miss, that's an hour away. It'll be costly."

"It's fine, I really need to get there," I said, opening the cab door and sitting down.

The last thing I remembered was how pretty New York City looked from a distance until I dozed off.

**Songs used: So what by P!nk, and Only Girl (In the World) by Rihanna.**

**Thanks! One more thing: Percabeth forever! This is not a Perachel story!**

**RESPONSES TO REVIEWS:**

**TR: Yup, I might do that later on.**

**SofiaRox: Thanks! Love your honesty, I'm still happy, lol!**

**ME N NICO FOREVA: Thanks so much! Percy will learn eventually…**

**Tratieluver14-the girl on fire: Paul's awesome, I know! It was a surprise. Thanks! By the way, for your penname, the part when it says 'the girl on fire' is that from the Hunger Games? I just reread the whole series, even though I read it already.**

**BlackConverse24: We all hate Rachel! Thanks!**

**Klydo: I know, right? Thanks for reviewing.**

**PercabethFanatic: Yup! She'll realize she likes him soon enough!**

**Jamieeeeeee: I literally had to count the e's in your penname. Thanks!**

**CUPCAKELORD: LOL, you totally seem hyper! I loved the Justin Beiber(is it I before e?) comments too! Thumbs up for the Beiber haters! Sadly, most of my friends love Beiber…the only decent person that hates him is my sister, and that's sad. So glad you can join us! He's all over my school, too! On lockers, on shirts, on bodies! EVEN GAY DUDES HAVE HIS HAIR STYLE! I just reread the Hunger Games trilogy (don't ask why I reread it). PEETA AND KATNISS FOREVER! Don't worry, President Snow gets a taste of his medicine… I might do the Annabeth-Rachel thing! LOL! I laughed when you said 'I never get tired of the squiggle'.**

**~ PEACE OUT!**


	12. Childish Mannerisms

**I am back! I have a relatively short chapter, but it did exceed 1,000 words (not counting this author's note). **

**So sorry about the really weird dream…I wanted to have some fun with it. Also sorry about the OOC-ness.**

**Thanks to SeaOfWisdom18, DoubleStuffedOreoFellow, Tratieluver14-the girl on fire, Capollo4Ever, jamieeeeeee, nancy, and anakin26! Review responses are at the bottom!**

**Also, I'm really sorry about the way the song lyrics came out in the last chapter. When I wrote it on Microsoft Word, every four lines there was a gap. I pressed enter (return). Unfortunately, it didn't come out that way.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

**Chapter 11: Childish Mannerisms**

_I was in a pretty meadow, surrounded by multi-colored flowers. I would like to say I was all by myself, twisting and twirling in a beautiful dress, but that'd be lying._

_Rachel Dare was sitting in front of me, picking the lush green grass from the ground. The early morning sun shone down on the redhead's hair, making it look an orange-y color._

"_Rachel!" I scolded her. She had a look of surprise on her face._

"_Yes, Master?" She immediately stopped what she was doing and stood up. Her green eyes bore into my gray ones._

"_What do you think you're doing? It's not your break time!"_

"_Sorry, Ma'am. I was waiting for you to give your next order." Rachel picked at the grass stains on her peasant-like dress._

"_Fetch me some tea," I ordered her. She looked at me like I fell from a tree, only dressed in a diaper and a shirt that says 'Butterfly Princess'. In other words, she looked at me like I was crazy._

"_Where can I find you tea? We're in the middle of a meadow-"_

_I interrupted her, "No time for talking! Now fetch me some tea, woman!" Rachel nodded, hurried over to a nearby lake, walked into it, and ran in circles. What a loon._

_All of a sudden, Percy appeared, wearing a sea-green shirt that matches his eyes and dark jeans._

"_Percy!" Rachel shouted from the lake she was running around in. She ran over to him, her peasant dress soaked up to the knees. When she reached him, she hugged him. _

_Percy gagged, disgusted. "Get away from me, you worthless nobody! You're deranged! It's time we broke up!"_

_Tears formed in Rachel's eyes. "What? Why?"_

"_I just explained it to you, you freakin' psycho!" Percy said. Then he picked her up and threw her at a wall (don't ask how that wall got there)._

"_Why did you break up with her?" I asked. "I thought you loved her."_

_Percy looked at me. "It is not her I love. After all these years, I realized that the one I love is right in front of me."_

_I put my hand to my heart, touched. "Really? You love me?"_

_Percy's smile faltered. "Hell no! It's Betty White I love!" All of a sudden, Betty White materialized in front of him. "Let's live a happy life, get married, and have little Asian babies!"_

"_Why Asian babies? We're not Asian," Betty White pointed out._

"_BECAUSE I SAID SO!"_

_Betty White shrugged. "Works for me." Percy picked her up bridal style and ran into the lake Rachel was in previously, screaming, "BIG MOMMA, BIG MOMMA, BIG MOMMA!"_

_I sat in the grass, sad that I lost my servant (not so much the servant) and my only love._

"_Miss!" a strange voice whispered. I whirled around. "Miss!" It shouted again._

I was interrupted from my strange, peculiar, and odd dream by the taxi cab driver's voice. "Miss!" she shouted. "We're here!" I sat up. I had fallen asleep during the hour-long drive to Thalia's house. I checked my watch. 11:30 PM.

"Oh," was the completely intelligent response I thought of. "Thanks."

The woman grumbled, "Yea, yea. Now give me my money and get the hell out of this cab." Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning…

Anyway, I handed her a twenty-dollar bill and walked out of the cab, up onto the steps of Thalia's house, and through the door. Thalia was sitting at the kitchen table, drinking hot cocoa.

She had a stern look on her face. "Where have you been?"

"Out," I replied, throwing my muddy high heels in the shoe bin that Thalia had.

"I've been waiting for you for over two hours."

"Sorry, but I didn't exactly have a ride to take me back to your house," I shot back.

Thalia sighed. "Did you get our leftovers from La Poivre?"

"Yes," I said. I know, very descriptive.

Thalia looked around. "I don't see them anywhere…"

I smirked. "I gave them to a homeless man. Something Rachel _wouldn't_ do."

"I'm pretty sure Rachel would give food to a homeless man if she donates to the needy, volunteers at-" Thalia started, defending Rachel.

"Yea, yea, yea, volunteers at homeless shelters, donates to the SPCA, yadda yadda yadda. All that crap she lied about."

Thalia stood up from her seat at the kitchen table. "You haven't even gotten the time to get to know Rachel! Maybe _you_ think she's a ruthless manipulator, but people change as they grow older! I'm just asking you to give her a chance! Is that such a big favor?"

I sighed. "I'm sorry. Let's not fight, Thals."

Thalia sat down. "Are you going to give her a chance?" She obviously refused to let this go.

I sighed, again. "Fine. I'll give her a chance. But just one!"

Thalia grinned. "Great. Now, you two can get to know each other better by coming to the hockey game with Percy, Nico, and me on Friday afternoon. I picked up five tickets a couple hours ago. They were on sale." (A/N: It's Wednesday night now.)

My mouth dropped. "You didn't!"

"I did!"

I grinned, ran over to Thalia, and gave her a huge bear hug. I've always wanted to go to a hockey game. I went to one as a small child, and I loved it. It was an exhilarating rush.

My smile then faltered when I realized Rachel was tagging along. "Ugh. It would be better if we could go alone, just the two of us, to, you know, catch up on things. But instead, _she_ has to come." I didn't really mind Nico coming. But, there's a catch when Percy comes (not that I don't want him there). He always has to bring Rachel along.

"Annabeth," Thalia said disapprovingly, like she was talking to a small child, "you promised to give Rachel a chance. Now, I want you to clean up your act, and apologize in person to Percy and Rachel tomorrow afternoon about what happened today at dinner." I raised my finger, ready to protest, but Thalia beat me to it. "No buts! You'll do as I say. Capiche?"

"Understood," I muttered.

"Great. Now, I suggest you get ready for bed. Tomorrow is going to be one helluva day." I knew Thalia was talking about how I would apologize to Percy and Rachel. She'll probably tape it for all I know. I pouted.

"What now?" Thalia asked, exhausted, setting her cup of hot chocolate on the table.

"First…" I started, staring at her cocoa hungrily. "Can I have some hot chocolate?"

Thalia shook her head, as if to say, 'What am I gonna' do with you?' "Go crazy."

**I didn't like the way this chapter turned out…sorry! I'll update by next week. I've been busy with my other story, too (The Son of Neptune). But when that ends (and it's kind of close to the end), I'll update this faster.**

**RESONSES TO REVIEWS:**

**SeaOfWisdom18: I'm full of surprises, lol! Percy knew that if someone threatened (or pulled schemes) on his girl, he'd get all protective, you know? Don't you think he'd do that if the one pulling the pranks was Rachel and the situation was reversed? I think so. Thanks for the review! :D**

**DoubleStuffedOreoFellow: Thanks so much! I enjoy the compliments. :D**

**Tratieluver14-the girl on fire: LOVE Peeta! I totally agree with you! We all hate Rachel! Percy will find out…eventually. Thanks!**

**Capollo4Ever: When I first read this, I thought you wrote: I hate this story! Lol! My mind's a little off today…you can see that by this wonderfully odd chapter I just produced. Join the HATE JB club! Thanks!**

**Jamieeeeeee: I literally memorized the amount of e's in your penname by this point. Lol! They are awesome! There are actually 7 e's, to be exact. The percabeth will come eventually… cue mysterious music**

**Nancy: Thanks! I got the lyrics by typing in the song name and then the word lyrics on google. So for So What, I wrote: So What by P!nk lyrics.**

**Anakin26: :D**

**26 more reviews to 100! I'm counting on you guys!**

**Love, the lovely and talented,**

**Starglow13**


	13. The Bold and the Beautiful

**Hi guys! Thanks for all of the reviews! I decided to update tonight at 10:59 PM. At least that's the time right now where I live (Just became 11:00!). BTW, school starts Tuesday. I most definitely will NOT neglect this story when school starts. I'll at least try to update every week, but I'll never not update for a month, unless I'm on hiatus.**

**Thanks to BlackConverse24, Athena's Owlet24, Capollo4Ever, worldsgreatest4ever, ME N NICO FOREVA, SeaOfWisdom18, jamieeeeeee, and SouthAmericanGirl! 18 more reviews to 100! Review responses are on the bottom of this page! Thanks soo much, guys!**

**Also, I have no idea why I named this chapter The Bold and the Beautiful, other than the fact that it was playing on Rachel's T.V.**

**Disclaimer: No. Did that answer your questions?**

**Chapter 12: The Bold and the Beautiful**

THURSDAY MORNING

The sun shone through the window of the guest room, casting a yellow-y glow. I slowly opened my eyes, for dramatic effect. Last night, after I drank my hot chocolate, I crashed onto the bed in Thalia's guest room and fell asleep the instant my head hit the Tempur-Pedic pillow.

I stretched my arms out and sat up straight. Today was the big day. The day I had to apologize to Percy and Rachel for doing nothing.

Okay, maybe I needed to apologize for accidentally dying Percy's hair olive-green (It should've been Rachel)…. But I most _definitely_ didn't need to apologize for 'purposely' spilling water on Rachel. I'll admit – I _was_ planning to dump water on her using the element of surprise, but I honestly didn't mean to initiate my plan then and there. It was a total accident when I spilled the water on her.

I hopped out of bed and walked down the stairs. I went into the kitchen and searched the pantry. Since there was nothing but cereal, I searched the fridge. Milk, cheese, and lettuce. I then noticed a little note on the handle of the fridge. It read: _Went grocery shopping. __You better have apologized by the time I get back! – Thalia._

Guess I'll just settle for cereal. I opened the pantry and pulled out some Trix. You know, the cereal with the commercial with the stupid bunny rabbit on drugs that tries to rob cereal from kids, and then the kids say, "Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids!"

Got the picture?

I set the Trix on the table and took a bowl from Thalia's cupboard. Then I took the milk from Thalia's fridge and set it on the table. I poured the cereal into the bowl. After that, I poured the milk in. I took a spoon from Thalia's drawer and sat down at the small kitchen table. I ate the Trix like they were going out of style.

After I finished eating, I put the bowl and spoon in the sink and trailed upstairs. I brushed my teeth and went to my suitcase, searching for some clothes. If I was going to Percy's house, I might as well make myself presentable!

I threw on dark jeans and a white shirt with ruffles. Over the shirt I wore a light blue jacket and a green bracelet on my wrist. I walked to Thalia's front door, put on some white sandals, and walked outside into the fresh air. A cold burst of wind slapped me hard in the face. I looked around the busy streets, searching for a yellow cab, also known as a taxi. I finally found one and flagged him down. He drove at a fast speed and parked in front of me. Then he rolled down the window.

I told him the address of Percy's house. He nodded as I got into the cab. It smelled of sweat. Once I was fastened into the seat, he sped off to the address I told him.

Within minutes we reached Percy's house. I thanked the driver and gave him five dollars. He grinned a toothless grin at me and sped off. I sighed heavily. It was my time to shine.

I walked up the front steps of Percy's house and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Rachel appeared. She opened the front door.

"Annabeth." She was being unusually nice for her normal self.

"Hey, Rachel. Look, I just wanted to say sorry about the other night at dinner," I told her. She raised an eyebrow.

"And what about the pranks?"

I sighed and mumbled, "I'm sorry about those too. You know, you and me, we like to do that to each other! You know! Just a little playful way of saying-"

"Back off, bitch."

"Yea," I mumbled. "Wait, no! It's not a playful way of saying that! C'mon, I was joking around!"

Rachel glanced behind her and immediately changed emotions from unhappy to ecstatic. "I was kidding! You can come on in, I was just having some girls over."

I was _n__ot_about to fall into one of Rachel's traps. "Oh, no thanks, I just wanted to apologize to Percy and you. By the way, is Percy in there?"

"No, he went jogging with Nico."

"Oh, well I best be going-"

"Annabeth!" a girl's voice shouted from inside the house. Rachel opened the door a little wider so I could see everything. Standing there was none other than Silena Beauregard.

"Silena? What are you doing here?" I asked her.

"I told you, Annabeth, I invited some girls over. Would you like to come in?" Rachel asked me politely. Oh, so that's what made Rachel suddenly change her expression.

"No thanks-"

"Come on, Annie! Come inside! We're having some fun in here!" Silena's voice shouted from inside. I really didn't want to do this, but I did the polite thing and walked inside. There were four girls (including Rachel), and one girl I didn't recognize. Katie Gardner was also there, I noticed. I wonder why Thalia and I didn't know about this little 'outing'.

"Hey Annabeth!" Katie shouted from the kitchen. Rachel led me to the kitchen, where the four girls were. I heard some faint noises coming from the family room, so I quickly glanced through the door. The television was playing The Bold and the Beautiful, a 1987 soap opera.

"Hi," I greeted. I didn't want to be rude, but I said, "Hey, Rachel, do you know when Percy's coming back? I need to apologize to him, too."

"I don't know, maybe fifteen minutes."

I inwardly cheered. "Thanks." Everone was standing quietly in the kitchen. I was waiting for someone to introduce me to the girl I didn't know. Instead, I introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Annabeth." I held my hand out for her to shake. Instead, she looked at me like I was a huge germ ball.

"Annabeth? You really don't remember me, do you?" she asked me. I studied her. Platinum blond hair that was super thin and straight, green eyes, skinny.

"No…am I supposed to?"

She looked shocked. "Uh, yea! It's me, Mindy Green, from high school! The girl that ruled the school, the one who dated that quarterback…what was his name? Drew?" Mindy Green… Oh. Her. One of Rachel's high school friends. One of Rachel's _popular_ high school friends.

"Mindy. Ah. Now I remember," I said, my voice monotone.

"Yea. Wow, you really changed since high school."

I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult. "So have you. Anyway, you moved to New York City too? What a coincidence. I mean, you guys were practically best friends and you end up in the same part of the city."

"Actually, Rachie and I attended the same high school. No way would we leave each other behind!" I laughed a sickly laugh. Silena and Katie just watched our conversation.

"So…" Katie trailed off.

"I have a great idea," Silena said. "We should go….shopping!" Rachel, Mindy, and Silena all squealed, while Katie and I awkwardly watched them.

"I don't know….I just came for a quick visit," I said.

Rachel shot her head towards me. "Well, majority rules. We could leave you behind if you want."

I was about to tell her that I'd actually like that, when Silena said, "Please, Annie! For me!" Then she gave me this puppy dog face the she knew I couldn't resist. She puffed out her bottom lip and made her eyes look all innocent and sad. I tried looking away.

"Silena, we went shopping last time," I said. She took Thalia and me shopping when I first arrived here.

"But you can never get enough shopping! It's, like, the best thing in the world!" Mindy nodded vigorously. "Whoever said money can't buy happiness obviously didn't know where to go shopping!" I smiled. Silena would always say something like that about shopping.

"Really, I don't want to go," I said. "I don't want to be the party-pooper, but you guys can go without me. Percy should be coming soon, anyways. I could just wait for him here-"

"And miss all of the fun? No way in Hades would we let you do that!" Silena said. I smiled at her reference to Greek mythology. I knew she liked the subject, and she knew I did.

I was just about to give in to them, until the door opened, revealing two sweaty men. Percy and Nico. There was sweat lingering on their foreheads, and their hair was wet because of the sweat. You could also see that their shirts were soaked with sweat in the front and back. Or maybe they just poured water all of their heads.

Leave it to Percy and Nico to save the day!

"Oh, look who's here!" I said fast. "Looks like I'll apologize and get outta' your hair." I walked over to Percy. "Percy, I'm really sorry about the other night at La Poivre."

"You mean that really fancy French restaurant?" Nico asked. I nodded.

"I already apologized to Rachel. So, do you forgive me?" I asked him, raising my eyebrows. The whole room was silent – you could hear a pin drop.

"So…say something…" I said.

Percy sighed and replied, "It's really hard to stay mad at you." I let out a big breath of air I didn't know I was holding. I was relieved to hear that.

"Thanks." I grinned. "Once again, I'm really sorry."

"It's alright. But if you pull something like that again (I knew he was talking about the prank with the olive-green hair dye.), you'll be sorry." He stared me down. Then he started laughing. "Haha, just kidding. You should've seen your face!" I guess deep down men will always be the little boys they once were…

"Haha, very funny. Now, thanks for saving me from that shopping disaster, and I'll see Nico, Rachel, and you tomorrow."

I was just about to leave, when Silena asked, "What are you doing tomorrow?" I didn't want to talk about the hockey game here, because Silena, Katie, and Mindy didn't have tickets and Thalia didn't invite them.

However, Nico apparently didn't care about manners. "We're going to a hockey game," he said, "with Thalia." I noticed the slight blush that crept up his cheeks at the mention of Thalia's name.

"Um, speaking of Thalia, I better get back to her house-" I said, only to get interrupted by Silena.

"You're going to the New York Rangers game, too?" Silena asked.

Rachel asked, "You got tickets also?"

Silena nodded. "Charlie said that I had to do something he liked, since I always take him shopping. But seriously, who can't get enough shopping?" Percy and Nico groaned at the mention of shopping. Join the club.

"Well, bye, thanks for having me for this short time, Rachel!" Silena was about to protest but I waved goodbye to her and walked to the front door. I called out to Percy and Rachel, "Once again, so sorry!"

Then I walked out the door, flagged down another taxi cab driver, and had him drive me to 375 Boulevard Avenue, otherwise known as Thalia's address.

**For those of you that are actually reading this, please check out my story called 'Will You Be My Girlfriend?' I entered it in a MarySueGary Stue contest XxDarknessInsideMexX was holding. FLAMES ARE REQUIRED TO WIN!**

**Thanks!**

**RESPONSES TO REVIEWS:**

**BlackConverse24: Of course there's Percabeth! Just not at the moment.**

**Athena's Owlet24: I know, right? Haha! Thanks!**

**Capollo4Ever: Thanks so much! I hate Rachel, too!**

**Worldsgreatest4ever: Thanks! I don't know why I wrote such a weird dream…**

**ME N NICO FOREVA: You don't need to apologize for your yaying! It's fine by me! Thanks!**

**SeaOfWisdom: Thanks sooo much! Haha! Definitely not too forward! Yup, the dream was weird. :P**

**Jamieeeeeee: Lol! :D**

**SouthAmericanGirl: I know, it was a crazy dream! Thanks!**

**Bye guys!**

**- starglow13**


	14. Silena Has Fashion Issues

**Hi guys! I'm sorry for the long wait. School started, and the first couple of days are pretty hectic. For the poll on my profile, Thalico won! So in this chapter we have hints of Thalico and there's also Thalico in next. Thanks for reviewing Will You Be My Girlfriend! I'll let you know if I win. **

**P.S., this chapter should've been up yesterday, but I never finished writing it. You can thank my braces for that, I was let out of school early because I had an orthodontist appointment :(. I wrote this chapter in my spare time. Also, my science teacher's name is Ms. D'Angelo! Isn't that so similar to Nico's last name, di Angelo? It is. Thanks to Cashii11, jamieeeeeee, SeaOfWisdom18, alexandriarulzforeva, BlackConverse24, Scarletfire02, BlackPanther101, yanksrock615, Capollo4Ever, SouthAmericanGirl, worldsgreatest4ever, allyalexandra1999 and NaomiRocks100! Review responses are at the bottom!**

**5 MORE REVIEWS TO 100, GUYS! THANKS SO MUCH! Sorry about Caps, it was stuck. :D The next chapter is the hockey game.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own You Again or PJO.**

**Chapter 13: Silena Has Fashion Issues**

STILL THURSDAY

I climbed into the taxi. "Please take me to 375 Boulevard Avenue," I told him. He nodded, so I thanked him. Then we were off to Thalia's.

I had recently just apologized to Rachel and Percy. Things would've gone perfectly if Silena, Rachel and Mindy (Rachel's friend) hadn't invited me shopping. I mean, I would've gone, but Thalia was expecting me back, I still didn't apologize to Percy (at that time), and I just didn't want to go. After moments of arguing, just as I was about to give in, Percy and Nico walked into the house. Thank the Lord.

"We're here, Miss." I was snapped out of my thoughts when the taxi driver stopped at Thalia's house.

"Thanks," I thanked him, giving him the money. I stepped out of the cab. The driver immediately drove off. A busy man, he must be.

I walked up the steps to Thalia's house and walked in. Nobody was there. Since I didn't see anyone around, so I called out, "Thalia?"

I heard some shuffling upstairs when Thalia shouted, "Annabeth! I'm up here! Did you apologize?"

"Yea, I did." I called out, walking up the stairs to where Thalia was. There were three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. "Whatcha' doing?" I asked, walking into her room.

Thalia looked at me. "Just cleaning my room out. I picked up some groceries, too, so if you need anything, it's most likely to be in the fridge or pantry." I nodded.

"So…how'd it go?" she asked me. I knew she was talking about the apology.

"It went pretty good, but Rachel, Silena, and Mindy invited me shopping, and I really didn't want to go. I know it would be rude to say no, and I tried to, but they wouldn't give up. Eventually, I was about to give in, but Percy and Nico walked in, cutting me off. So I apologized one more time and left," I informed Thalia. Thalia smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck.

"What?" I asked her, but she kept her mouth shut. "Thalia? What?"

Thalia finally said, "Uh…. Who's Mindy?"

"Mindy is Rachel's friend," I told her skeptically. I honestly didn't believe that Thalia would act that strangely if she was going to ask me about Mindy. I also refrained from saying Mindy was one of Rachel's sidekicks that bullied me, because then we'd just engage in an argument.

"Oh," Thalia quickly replied, about to walk out of her room. I stopped her.

"Thalia, really, what were you going to say?"

She looked at me and gave me an innocent smile. "Silena called me from Rachel's house and asked if we wanted going shopping," she said.

I closed my eyes. "And you said no?" _Please tell me she said no, please tell me she said no, please tell me she said no!_

"I told her we would," Thalia said. That was unlike Thalia…to go shopping?

I sighed. "But we went shopping with Silena last time, and that was horror! What made you suddenly change your mind?" This should be good.

Thalia blushed. "Um, well, Rachel's new friend is coming, and….I just wanted to meet her, I guess." Yea right. Fortunately for Thalia, I stopped questioning her.

"Whatever. But I don't want to go, don't I look pretty enough already?" I complained, joking with her. Apparently, she took this seriously, and was about to protest, but I held up a finger and said, "Don't answer that." Then I walked downstairs. I heard Thalia's footsteps behind me.

Shopping was NOT one of my favorite things to do. I prefer things that don't involve picking matching clothes and trying on high heels all day.

"So when are we going?" I asked Thalia.

"We're supposed to meet them at the food court in the Manhattan Mall. Oh, and Percy and Nico are coming." I noticed a faint blush crept up Thalia's cheeks.

I raised an eyebrow. "Why would they want to go shopping? They groaned when Rachel, Mindy, and Silena mentioned it." I had some strange feeling that Rachel threatened them into doing it—okay, maybe not _threatened_. More like persuaded.

"Silena said they convinced them somehow. I honestly don't want to know what she did," Thalia said. Neither did I. I shuddered and followed Thalia out the door. I got into Thalia's car, Thalia following suit. Then Thalia drove off to the Manhattan Mall.

"Let me get this straight," I told Thalia, "Percy and Nico are just coming because Rachel convinced them?" Just making sure there were no death threats.

"Yea, something like that. But they'll be shopping at different stores than us."

I grinned. "So that means I don't have to shop in the same stores at the same time as Rachel?"

Thalia shot me a look, then quickly went back to watching the road. "No, you're going to have to, if you want to become greater friends."

I wanted to tell Thalia that I don't want to be friends with Rachel, but she would've yelled at me. "But isn't that what the hockey game is for?"

"Well, yes, but the hockey game is also for our entertainment," she said. Before I could argue, Thalia quickly added, "Look! We're here!" Sure enough, we arrived at the Manhattan Mall.

"Great," I mumbled. Thalia ignored me.

It was really hard to find a parking spot, but Thalia eventually found one. We both got out of the car and headed towards the food court entrance. When we reached the automatic front doors, we walked in. The aroma of food filled my nostrils.

"So where are they?" I asked Thalia. She seemed to look around for a bit, until she responded,

"Over there." She pointed to a spot. I saw a flash of frizzy red hair.

Thalia began walking to the spot she pointed at. I quickly followed.

"Look who decided to come!" Rachel said when we came over there.

"Well, Thalia told Silena yes already and I didn't know," I told her. Rachel just shrugged, turned to Mindy, and engaged in conversation with her.

"Hey, Annabeth!" I heard Silena call my name. I turned. She was right behind me.

"Oh, hey Silena," I greeted her.

She smiled. "I'm so happy you came!" I smiled back at her. I looked around. Percy and Nico were sitting at a table talking to each other. Thalia quickly walked over there.

"So, Silena," I started. "Why did Percy and Nico decide to come shopping? I thought they hated shopping." What? I really need some details, here.

"We convinced them that they could go to the stores they wanted. Like the electronics and sports stores," Silena said with disgust. I internally sighed. Typical Silena.

There was a moment of silence. Mandy and Rachel were talking, Thalia was talking with Nico and Percy, and I was over here talking with Silena. I wasn't ready to talk to Percy again, not after what happened at dinner.

"So what store do you want to go to first?" I asked her.

Silena grinned ear-to-ear. "It's a surprise. We should be ready to start now that you guys are here." Then she walked over to Mindy, Rachel, and Thalia and gathered them all over here. "We're going to start shopping!" Mindy, Rachel, and Silena all squealed. I tried my hardest not to groan. I looked over at Thalia. She was concentrating on a certain spot with a smile on her face (A/N: Guess who? :P). Silena dragged Thalia and me along. I didn't even have time to look at the name of the store.

"Silena!" I groaned. "What store is this?"

"It's a surprise!" she told me. There was makeup, racks and shelves of clothing, changing rooms, and different shoes.

Mindy and Rachel quickly scurried over to the clothes. That left Silena, Thalia, and me. I'm surprised Silena didn't do anything yet. "Thalia," Silena said excitedly, "I'm going to give you a makeover!" Thalia's face was all but calm. I refrained from laughing.

"No, no, no, no, no, I'm good, thanks though," Thalia politely declined.

Silena stared at her. "I wasn't asking for your opinion! Come on, please?" Then Silena gave her these innocent puppy dog eyes. See how it feels, Thalia?

Thalia gave in after a few moments. "Fine! But I get to do the makeup!"

"No! That's one of the best parts!" Silena gave her puppy dog face again and Thalia mumbled fine. I smirked as Silena dragged Thalia somewhere.

Well, I might as well make use of my time. I'm definitely not going to spend my time shopping in this store, so I sat down on one of the couches that they provided in the stores and pulled a Greek Mythology book out of my purse. You might be wondering, why does she keep books in her purse? Well, in case I'm out and I'm waiting somewhere for someone or something, I can read! Now is a great time to show how this really works out.

After twenty minutes of reading the Greek Mythology book, Silena walked over to me and snatched it out of my hands.

"Hey!" I yelled. That caused most of the shoppers to look at me. I told them to go back to what they were doing and they obeyed. "Silena, can I please have my book back?"

"Not until you look at Thalia! I finished her makeover!" Silena said. I sighed.

"Fine. Anything to get my book back." Plus, it was an easy task.

"Thalia, come out here!" Silena said. Soon enough, a grumpy and gloomy looking Thalia emerged.

But it didn't look like Thalia at all. She looked _super_ good. Her normal short and spiky black hair was straightened so it barely reached her shoulders. Silena had applied a light pink blush and a dark blue eye shadow that really made her eyes pop. Her skin looked flawless, and she had a bumble gum pink lip-gloss on. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder black sweater. It was a soft, shoulder-baring sweater refined with silver-rimmed snaps, allover ribbing and a pointelle stitch. She was also wearing white skinny jeans.

"Can I take everything off now?" Thalia grumbled.

Silena shook her head. "What do you think, Annabeth?"

"I think she looks amazing!" I said. Silena smiled.

"See, Thalia? Annabeth thinks you look great, so that means a certain someone will think you look even better, since Annabeth doesn't have much of a fashion sense!" I wasn't sure whether to be offended… I guess I am slightly offended.

"Hey!"

Silena shrugged. "Can't hide the truth." She's so nice (Note my sarcasm). Anyway, I'm still wondering who this 'certain someone' Silena is talking about.

"Certain someone?" I asked.

Thalia looked confused as well. "I have no idea what she's talking about. You know Silena, half the things she talks about don't make sense."

Silena shrugged. "You will soon."

"So I looked at Thalia, can I have my book back?" I asked Silena. She shook her head. "What? Why not!"

Silena said, "Because. You just need to do one more thing." I sighed and asked Silena what. "Let me give you a makeover!"

I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped to the floor. Immediately, I said, "No way!"

"You said you'd do anything!"

"Well that was a figure of speech!"

"No it wasn't! You meant it!"

"I'm not letting you give me a makeover."

"Fine. Then you don't get your book back." I shrugged. She would probably end up giving it back to me anyway, why would she want a book? It's not like she reads them. Anyway, the reason the book is special is because I got it when I was on a business trip in Greece. It's one of the few books that I have that is written in Greek. I can fluently speak and read Greek, it's almost easier than English.

"It's not like you're going to do anything with it," I said.

"Well, you're thinking wrong, because I _will_ do something," Silena said.

"What will you do? Read it?" I laughed.

"I'll rip all the pages out and throw it in the trashcan." She must really want to give me a makeover.

"Yea, right."

To prove her point, she went over to the trashcan. She started ripping a page off. The most she ripped was a little piece in the corner before I stopped her.

"Silena, just give me my book!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!" Silena's really stubborn. Then again, so am I.

"Fine! But don't put a lot of makeup on!" I told her.

She smiled, hugged, me tightly, and kept repeating, "Thank you Annabeth!" Finally, she handed me my book. I snatched it away from her, shoving it in my purse. "Watch my purse," I told Thalia. She nodded.

Silena led me to a rack of clothes. "Go to the changing rooms, I'll meet you there with your clothes." I grumbled something unintelligible and trailed to the changing rooms. I can't believe I'm actually doing this. I just hope Silena will keep her word and give me my book back.

Before I walked into the changing room, I looked to the right of me. Rachel and Mindy were giggling and talking. Even though they couldn't see me, I rolled my eyes.

I waited in the small changing room. Silena finally knocked on the door.

"Annabeth?" she asked.

"Yea, it's me," I grumbled.

"Great. Here are your clothes!" Silena said cheerfully. She threw the clothes over the top of the door. I caught them.

"Silena, why would this store let you try on their clothes, makeup, and use their flat iron's (How else was Thalia's hair straight?)?"

"Oh! It's simple. You just tell them that you're buying the product."

"But that's lying."

I imagined Silena rolling her eyes. "That's the point." I could hear Silena's footsteps traveling away from the changing rooms. I groaned. It's time for me to try on these clothes. I took the closest thing to me. It was a white and gray striped tank top with a connected white cardigan. I took my shirt off and slipped it on. Then I looked in the mirror that was provided in the tiny changing room. It looked okay.

I looked at the next item that Silena threw to me. It was a black skirt that went to mid-thigh. Ugh. Skirts were not one of my favorite articles of clothing.

I slipped the skirt on and looked in the mirror. I guess I looked okay…

I walked out of the changing room. Silena hurried over to me.

"Annabeth! You look great!" she said.

"Thanks," I told her. "Can I take it off now?"

"Definitely not! We need to put some makeup on your face!"

"Silena, I really don't like to wear makeup. It feels weird and-"

"Hush hush, Annabeth. Come with me." So much for an explanation. SIlena dragged me over to a table of makeup.

She was about to start, but a worker came over and asked, "Can I help you with anything?"

Silena said, "No thank you, Miss. We're just here to look at some makeup. Might even buy something if it works." The worker lady looked at Silena skeptically, so Silena added, "By the way, that shirt goes super well with your skirt that shows off your long legs. Your flawless skin helps, too." The employee smiled and skipped away. "Alright, Annabeth, let's get started. Sit in this chair." I sat in the swivel chair. "Close your eyes. It'll be over in a minute." I did as Silena told me. I felt the tickle of the eye shadow brush on my eyelids. Next I felt the mascara brush on my eyelashes. Eventually, it stopped. "You can open your eyes," Silena said. I did as she told me. Silena had applied a light smoky gray color around my eyes. She also put dark gray eyeliner and had black mascara. Like Thalia's eyes, it really made my eyes pop. "What do you think?"

"I think it makes my eyes pop," I told her. She smiled and grabbed a bottle of clear lip-gloss. She took a Q-Tip and wiped some lip-gloss on it. Then she wiped the Q-Tip all around my lips. When she was done, I looked in the mirror.

"Okay, are we done here?" I asked. I pretty much looked the same.

"Yup! You're lucky I'm not putting any blush on. But I don't think you need any."

"Thanks..?" I got up from the swivel chair and walked back to the changing room. I took the clothes that Silena gave me off and put the ones I came with back on. I tried smearing off the makeup, but it wouldn't budge. I sighed and walked out of the changing room. I ran into Thaila.

"Hey," Thalia said. "You look different."

I smiled. "So do you." She scowled.

"Let's get the heck out of this place," Thalia said. "I'm ready to meet up with Percy and Nico."

I nodded. "So am I. I had enough for one day. Let's find the others." Thalia nodded as we walked over to Rachel and Mindy.

"Rachel!" Thalia called over to her. She waved and smiled. Rachel did the same. "Are you ready to leave?"

"I'm ready when you're ready," Rachel said sweetly. If I asked her that, she probably would've snapped at me.

"Okay, let's find Silena," Thalia said. We walked over to Silena who was checking out some skirts. "Come on Silena, we're ready."

"Aww, fine. Let's go find the guys," Silena said, eyeing Thalia. We walked out of the store and met up at the food court. We told them we'd meet them there when we were done. Sure enough, Percy and Nico were sitting at one of the small tables chowing down on soft pretzels.

Percy waved us over. We walked over to them.

Nico stood up. "T-Thalia? Is that you?" he asked her.

Thalia scowled. "Hey Death Breath. Silena insisted on giving me a makeover. No matter how hard I try, I can't get this stuff off!" Silena smiled sweetly and guided Rachel and Mindy somewhere else for a friendly chat.

"Wow, y-you look different," Nico said, staring directly at Thalia. Thalia blushed. Woah…am I seeing correctly? Thalia NEVER blushes.

Thalia and Nico continued to chat. I walked over to Percy.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey yourself," he chuckled.

I smiled. My smile then faltered. "So why aren't you hanging out with Rachel?"

He shrugged. "She looks pretty busy." I turned around. Rachel was talking to Silena and Mindy.

"I guess so."

"Yea," Percy said. "So let me guess. Silena made you let her give you a makeover?"

I nodded. "The horror." He chuckled.

A couple of seconds later, Rachel came bouncing over. "Come on, we're ready to leave! Let's go, Percy." She grabbed Percy by the arm and dragged him away, sending one last menacing glare my way.

I huffed. When will this ever end?

**Thanks so much! Review responses:**

**Cashii11: Haha, I totally agree. Thanks!**

**Jamieeeeeee: Thanks!**

**SeaOfWisdom18: I know, Rachel's super cool and understanding. But in this story, she's extremely OOC. Thanks!**

**Alexandriarulzforeva: Thanks so much!**

**BlackConverse24: Thanks! Recycling will help the world! :D**

**Scarletfire02: It's going to be something like that, but really different. I already have the plot planned out, but thanks for the super idea!**

**BlackPanther101: You'll have to find out! Well, actually, if there's Percabeth in this story, how will they stay together? :D Thanks!**

**Yanksrock615: Definitely! Read the comment above! :D Thanks!**

**Capollo4Ever: Sometime soon, I'm not going to give too much away. Thanks!**

**SouthAmericanGirl: I don't like shopping… Hehe. Thanks!**

**Worldsgreatest4ever: Lol! I totally agree.**

**Allyalexandra1999: No way will I count all of those please's…Thanks so much! I'm super sorry for the late update. :(**

**NaomiRocks100: I updated! Sorry!**

**Thanks guys! Love ya!**

**-starglow13**


	15. IMPORTANT, READ! CONCERNS HIATUS!

**You guys, I promised myself I wouldn't write an A/N, but it's been too long. I'm deeply sorry for that. Between school and writing my other fanfic, TSON, which should be finished in about 5 chapters, everything is too overwhelming. So I'm going on hiatus for this story for a little while, so I can get into the swing of things. Don't worry, I'm not dying, I should be back in a couple of weeks. Please don't give up on me and just give me some time, I promise everything will be back to normal sometime soon. I'll try to fit time in my crazy schedule. My grandmother got in a car crash today, also, so let's pray that she's okay. I think she is, though. So anyway, I'm so sorry.**

**I can't believe you guys gave me 100 reviews when I've been so terrible to you. I'm sorry, and thanks so much for the immense amount of reviews, guys, I really do appreciate it.**

**(Insert Author's tears)**

**With Great Regret,**

**-starglow13**


	16. Kiss Cam

**So, trust me when I say I've been really busy. I'm sorry I haven't updated. I have a 2,340 worded chapter here for you. Thanks to Capollo4Ever, AnnabethChaserocks, jamieeeeeee, BlackConverse24, PercabethFanatic, ME N NICO FOREVA, SeaOfWisdom18, SeaweedBrain33, Christina, Scarletfire02, I like pizza and I want it, Aeron Thana, Coco-ly, ShadowGoddess, eagleyes111, and ().**

**For my story, 'Will You Be My Girlfriend', the person that's holding the contest hasn't announced the winner yet. I still want to thank you all that reviewed. You guys are awesome. I'll try to update soon!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**Chapter 14: Kiss Cam**

FRIDAY AFTERNOON (4:30 PM. The game starts at 5:00 PM)—DAY OF THE HOCKEY GAME

"Thalia, let's go!" I shouted. I was standing in front of Thalia's front door, waiting for Thalia to finish getting ready. It's been fifteen minutes and she's still not done. How long does it take to throw on some clothes?

"I'm almost done!" Thalia called down from upstairs. I huffed. She said that, like, ten minutes ago.

We were just about to leave for the hockey game. We decided that we'd all meet up at Percy's house and he'd take us to the game in his car. He has one of those mini vans that hold up to seven people (One driver, one person in the passenger seat, one person behind the driver and one behind the passenger seat, and three seats in the very back). There are exactly seven of us (Thalia, Nico, Percy, Rachel, Silena, Beckendorf, and me). We'd decided to carpool with Silena and Beckendorf, too, just to save gas and catch up on life. Plus, after the hockey game, we were going to go to go back to Percy's house and celebrate if the Ranger's one.

Heck, we were going to celebrate if they lost, too. Just for fun, I guess. We haven't all been out like this together in a while.

Thalia finally emerged from the top of the stairs and rushed down them. She was actually wearing normal clothing. She was wearing a fuzzy tan coat, and under, a blue ranger's t-shirt and white jeans. She also had on lots of black eyeliner and (to my surprise) blue eye shadow. She also had on a tiny bit of clear lip-gloss. Thalia stared at me. "What?" she asked defensively.

I laughed and joked, "Are you going on a date or something?"

Thalia just narrowed her eyes and mumbled for me to follow her outside. Before I followed her out into her car, I grabbed a coat and threw on a gray hat. Then I walked outside and got into Thalia's car. She started the car and began to drive to Percy's house.

"So, you excited?" Thalia asked.

My eyes lit up and I smiled. "Yea! I've been pretty excited to get away from shopping and actually go do something I enjoy with my friends."

Thalia nodded. "Who knows? Silena might even like going to the hockey game."

There was a moment of silence until Thalia and I broke it. We burst out laughing.

"Yea, that'll happen when Silena runs out of makeup in her drawers," I said, laughing uncontrollably.

A few minutes passed until we finally reached Percy's house. Thalia and I hopped out of the car and made our way to his front door.

Thalia rang the doorbell. Thalia looked pretty nervous. She was playing with one of the tan buttons on her coat.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

She looked at me, a nervous smile playing on her lips. "Nothing." I eyed her skeptically. I was about to tell her something must be up, but someone opened the door to Percy's house. Nico stood before us.

He called out to everyone in the house, "Guys! They're here!" Four people came rushing to the door. Percy, Rachel, Beckendorf and Silena emerged. "How long have you been waiting for us?" I asked them.

Rachel looked like she was about to say something snarky, but she refrained from doing so.

"Not long. About five minutes," Beckendorf said, shrugging. I glanced at Silena. She was wearing a hot pink fuzzy coat, a light pink t-shirt, jeans, and high black boots.

Typical Silena.

"Let's get in the car," Rachel said, seeming a little annoyed. We all walked over to Percy's car. He got in first, sitting in the driver's seat. Beckendorf sat in the passenger's seat (I'm surprised Rachel didn't sit there). Next, Thalia sat down in the seat behind Beckendorf and Nico sat down in the seat behind Percy (Which meant Thalia and Nico sat next to each other). That left Rachel, Silena, and me. We were the unlucky ones that had to squish ourselves in the back, in front of the trunk. I sat in the middle in between Rachel and Silena.

"Let's get this part started!" Beckendorf said. We cheered. Then Percy started driving away, making small talk with Beckendorf. Thalia and Nico looked pretty awkward. Thalia was blushing, but they managed to talk a little.

Then came Rachel and Silena. They were talking the most, using all sorts of hand motions and taking about certain brands of clothes and making. It was pretty uncomfortable for me, considering I was sitting in the middle. They kept getting in my space. Rachel was digging her leg into mine. I wasn't sure if she was doing it unintentionally because we were squished or if she was doing it on purpose because she hates me.

Probably the latter.

I sighed. I made a promise to Thalia that I wouldn't fight with Rachel at all today. Today was supposed to be a fun day, not a day where Rachel and I rip each other's throats out.

I managed to endure the makeup and clothing talk Rachel and Silena made for thirty minutes.

By the time we reached the hockey arena, I felt like I knew all the brands of clothes and makeup there was on the face of earth.

The parking lot was packed. Percy parked the car far away from the entrance. It was literally the only parking spot there was.

I was so eager to get out of the car that I almost knocked Rachel over. She growled at me, but I ignored her. A cold blast of air slapped me in the face when I got out of the car.

Silena was the last one out of the car. The parking lot was sort of wet from previous rainfall. She was complaining the whole walk to the entrance. ("I can't get these boots wet!" she says.)

I came to a stop in front of the arena's doors. I walked through the automatic doors, everyone else following suit.

After fifteen minutes of waiting in line and giving our tickets to the man that scans them, we walked into the frigid arena. We got tickets in the eighth row up (It might not be the box, but it's still a good spot!).

Generally, hockey games are two and a half hours long, so we would probably be in this arena for quite some time.

"Come on!" Rachel said. We all walked up the stairs until we reached our row. Percy down in one seat, Rachel sat next to Percy, Silena sat next to Rachel on her other side, Beckendorf sat next to Silena, Nico sat next to Beckendorf, Thalia sat next to Nico, and I sat next to Thalia.

Thalia was holding a bucket of buttery popcorn. She looked totally calm.

"Thalia, when did you get that popcorn?" I asked her, alarmed.

"Oh, I got it shortly after we waited in line to get our tickets scanned. It only took the guy a minute to give me the bucket. Then I caught up with you guys," she said.

I nodded. About twenty minutes passed until the hockey game started.

(A/N: I really know next to nothing about hockey, I'm really sorry about my short and suckish description!)

No one scored for the first fifteen minutes. We were neck-and-neck with the other team. The New York Rangers VS the Montreal Canadiens (A/N: I know Canadians is spelled wrong).

Finally, the Rangers scored. The score was now 1-0. We were winning.

Everyone stood up, cheering wildly. This lasted for another minute until everyone hushed down. There were only five more minutes until the first period was over.

There were three periods in a hockey game. They were each twenty minutes. In between the first and second periods was intermission.

The Montreal Canadiens were trying hard to score on the New York Rangers. Tension was in the air. I could practically feel it.

Finally, the first period was over. It was intermission. Some people got up to go to the bathroom or buy something to eat or drink while others stay seated. Rachel, Percy, Thalia, Beckendorf, Nico, Silena, and I all stayed seated.

"Intense game," Thalia said, munching on her popcorn. Nico nodded, agreeing with her. So did Beckendorf.

Silena yawned. "This is boring," she said. Beckendorf rolled his eyes, trying not to laugh.

A bunch of ads played on the screen in front of us. Different games and interviews also appeared.

But when 17 minutes of intermission passed, the tension was back in the air and everyone was seated. The game resumed. The Rangers had the puck. They shot it in the Canadiens goal, but the goalie blocked it and shot it upwards. The Canadiens were on a breakaway, for none of the defenders of the Rangers were expecting that. They tried snatching the puck back, but it was too late. The Canadiens scored on the Rangers. Some Canadiens fan cheered, but most people booed. There weren't many Canadien fans here, considering this was our home arena.

"Tough luck," Silena sighed, examining her ruby red nails.

20 minutes of agonizing suspense finally passed. The Canadiens had scored during the last three minutes. The score was 1-2, Canadiens.

The second period was over and we had another intermission. Some people stood up to go buy food or to the bathroom, but our group remained seated. More ads played on the screen.

"Crap," Nico said. "We're down by one."

"It's okay," Beckendorf said. "It's only one point. We might make a comeback." Nico nodded, although he didn't seem fully convinced.

"How are you liking the game so far?" Thalia asked me, licking her buttery lips.

"It's going pretty good. The suspense is literally killing me, though. I hope Beckendorf is right and we'll make a comeback," I tell her. Thalia shrugs.

I look up at the screen. I manage to hear something about a kiss cam. Then, the kiss cam shows up on the screen.

"Guys, look!" I tell the others. "It's the kiss cam!" They all look at the screen. First up are a woman that looks to be in her 30's and a man that looks the same age. They laugh and kiss each other. Next is a 20-ish looking woman and a man. They start making out.

After that, an old woman and an old man are chosen. He kisses her on the cheek.

Then they choose two guys. Everybody laughs. The men feign disgust but laugh.

After that, someone close to me is chosen. Literally. First of all, she's my best friend, and second, she's right next to me.

Thalia and…Nico. Thalia's face is beet red and so is Nico's. You can see a glimpse of me in the corner of the screen. I laugh. "Kiss! Kiss!" I begin to chant. Lots of people soon join me. Thalia and Nico shake their heads.

The kiss cam changes to a different pair. There's a young woman and man. They kiss quickly on the lips.

Next, the kiss cam moves back to Thalia and Nico. People start laughing. (A/N: I actually saw a video of that happening on youtube! The kiss cam kept moving to the pair that didn't want to kiss.) Thalia's face is super pink. Nico laughs nervously. Our whole group except Nico and Thalia are laughing histerically. Nico shakes his head. Thalia motions 'no' with her hands.

"Few," Thalia mumbles as the kiss cam then gives up and moves to a different couple.

Or so I thought. When the last couple finishes kissing, the kiss cam moves back to Thaila and Nico. Ha.

Everybody begins chanting, "Kiss! Kiss!" We're all laughing along.

"They're never gonna stop if we don't," Thalia says nervously to Nico, shrugging.

Nico gulps then leans closer to Thalia. They quickly kiss on the lips. Everybody cheers.

Nico pulls away really fast. Their faces are even redder than before—if that's possible.

I laugh and nudge Thalia.

The kiss cam then moves to another elderly pair that start kissing and then it's over with.

Different ads start to play on the screen.

I try not to burst out laughing again. Thalia will beat the crap out of me if I do.

When the intermission ends, the hockey game resumes. Thalia and Nico are still very red-faced. I refrain from laughing, again.

So far, the score was 1-2 and the Rangers were not winning.

After about ten minutes, the score still remained the same. That was until the Rangers scored on the Canadiens.

Everybody stood up cheering. It was an amazing shot. The Canadiens defense were so sure that they would deflect the shot—but the Rangers made a last second pass and scored from a different angle. The goalie wasn't expecting that.

Finally, the cheering died down. We sat down from our standing ovation and watched the game intently. We could win this.

Ten more minutes left in the game.

Five minutes passed, we still didn't score and neither did the Canadiens.

Four minutes passed.  
>Three minutes passed.<p>

Two minutes passed. We might have to go into overtime at this rate.

Finally, one minute passed. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. I was excited.

45 seconds left. The Rangers had the puck. We shot on the goalie.

But the goalie deflected it.

30 seconds left. The Canadiens had the puck. They skated up the rink, ready to shoot.

The shot in the goal, but our goalie deflected the shot.

15 seconds left. The Canadiens grabbed the puck and, at the last second, shot the puck.

And they scored.

Canadiens fans stood up cheering. There weren't many, though. A bunch of fans with their faces painted the Rangers colors booed.

I sighed. I was really looking forward to talking about how the Rangers won and all the awesome shots they made at Percy's house where the party would take place after the game.

Oh well. I'm still ready to party.

**Responses to reviews: **

**Capollo4Ever: Sigh. I hate shopping too.**

**AnnabethChaserocks: I hate shopping as well… xP**

**Jamieeeeeee: Yes, they definitely are.**

**BlackConverse24: Percabeth is coming!**

**PercabethFanatic: You thought right!**

**ME N NICO FOREVA: LOL! Thanks so much. WOOO!**

**SeaOfWisdom18: Lol, thanks so much!**

**SeaweedBrain33: I can totally agree with you. I don't like wearing any other shoes other than sneakers.**

**Christina: They're like, 26. Read the first chapter's A/N, it's stated there.**

**Scarletfire02: Woah, very detailed idea. I might do it if it doesn't conflict with the plot! Thanks!**

**I like pizza and I want it: I'll PM you sometime soon! Remind me again in your next review, please, because it's too late to PM you now. (11:31 PM)**

**Aeron Thana: Thanks so much! She's fine now. :D**

**Coco-ly: That would definitely be sad!**

**ShadowGoddess: I have written it. I'm so sorry it took forever.**

**Eagleyes111: Lol. Thanks.**

**(): Woah! Awesome! I'd love to pull another all nighter..I might do it sometime again.**

**:D**

**-starglow13**


	17. It's Party Time!

**Well, it's certainly been a while. With all the things going on in November (Thanksgiving, etc.), it was hard for me to update. I'm sorry… :( Thanks to ilovebooksbookworm, Zairinn, worldsgreatest4Ever, BloodyCrystals, eagleyes11, readingpower, ME N NICO FOREVA, Anonymous, SeaweedBrain33, Hellokittyfreak101, SouthAmericanGIrl, Juniper33, Starglow's Biggest fan, Littleangel, I like pizza and I want it, and Ei84136. I really appreciate you guys reviewing even though I haven't updated for a while. Part of the reason I haven't updated is because I've been playing Assasins Creed Brotherhood (Just LOVE that game on Multiplayer) on the Xbox…**

**So, I have a couple of birthday shout outs. **

**December 7****th****(Don't call me creepy because I know this): My old elementary music teacher's birthday. There's a good reason I know this! It's easy to remember.**

**December 8****th****: MY SISTER AND MY BIRTHDAY (Twins)! I'm so excited! Hopefully I'll mature a little more with my actions, but….**

**Those are pretty much the only ones. There are more, but those people are just my acquaintances and it'd be a little weird for me if they read this…although I doubt they are…I'm just paranoid…**

**Some of you wanted to see the kiss cam link I talked about in the last chapter where the people didn't want to kiss but the camera kept going back to them like Thalia and Nico. Here's the link, but delete the spaces (It's a basketball game not a hockey game): http:/ www . youtube. com/ watch?v=azF4JZFAwkc**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**Chapter 15: It's Party Time!**

I hopped in Percy's car. This time, Rachel sat shotgun, I sat behind Percy, and Thalia sat next to me. Nico, Beckendorf, and Silena sat in the back three seats. I could tell why Nico and Thalia were avoiding each other. There faces were pink for a great deal of time until everybody stopped laughing at them.

"Are you guys ready to party?" Silena asked everybody. We all cheered. Sure, there wouldn't be a lot of people, but we're supposed to be celebrating about the loss of the Rangers.

Well, it was supposed to be the WIN of the Rangers, but that didn't turn out exactly as planned.

But who am I to complain? I'm just excited to go to Percy's house.

Everybody was pretty quiet for the first few minutes of the car ride. The only people that were talking were Beckendorf and Silena.

I decided to make the ride less awkward for Thalia by taking her mind off of the kiss. I changed the subject to the party.

"Are you excited?" I asked her.

Thalia gave me a weird look. "Hell yea! I mean, I get to spend two months with my best friend from when I was younger and everybody else! How could I not be excited about that?"

"…You could've just said yes or no," I said. Thalia laughed.

The next twenty-five minutes flew by fast, and we were finally back at Percy's house.

We got out of the car one by one and walked up to Percy's door. He unlocked it and walked in.

"Rach, can you order some pizza?" Percy asked her.

Rachel looked slightly irritated but said, "Sure." She pulled out her pink sparkly cell phone and started ordering. I was close enough to hear her arguing with the pizza guy ("What do you mean you can't get it in within thirty minutes? Are you nuts?" she screamed.)

Then I heard the dial tone. The other person hung up on her. There goes our chance of getting pizza tonight.

Percy rushed over and asked if everything was all right.

"No!" Rachel started. "The pizza guy hung up on me!"

I sighed. "Maybe if you weren't screaming at him because he couldn't get the pizza in within thirty minutes he wouldn't have hung up." Rachel gave me a nasty look. I rolled my eyes.

"It's okay," Percy said. "There are plenty of other pizza places in the city. What about Domino's® Pizza?" (A/N: Haha I love the little R thing! ®)

Rachel made a face and scrunched her nose. "Ew."

"Joe's Pizza?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Lombardi's Pizza?"

"Nope."

"Frank's?"

"Gross."

"Pala?"

"No."

Percy sighed. This was getting nowhere.

"Do you like any other pizza besides the place you called?" I asked her as politely as I could ask someone who wouldn't agree on anything.

"No, I don't, as a matter of fact."

"Well, can't we, like, order a pizza from another place and then you could eat something else?" I asked her.

She started fake crying. "But I want to eat the same thing Percy eats!"

Percy told her it's okay like she was a baby and took her into the kitchen.

I went to find Thalia. She was sitting down at a table by her lonesome.

"This party's lame," she huffed.

I nodded. Rachel made it worse. I wasn't about to tell Thalia that. I told her we wouldn't fight.

Silena, Beckendorf, and Nico walked into the room. "Looks like we aren't having pizza. Apparently, the pizza guy yelled at Rachel and she's all sad, so Percy's comforting her in the kitchen," Silena said. "Plus, Rachel said the other brands of pizza make her break out in hives or something, so she can't have them."  
>So now Rachel's lying? I wonder if Percy knows about this. How could someone break out in hives for every single type of pizza besides the one they liked? Besides, they're practically made of the same things: cheese, sauce, and toppings.<p>

"So can't we order something else?" Thalia asked.

"Rachel doesn't want to," Silena said. I thought for a moment Thalia would come to her senses and say "Stupid Rachel", but she said something totally different.

"Poor Rachel," she said sympathetically. Everybody nodded.

"Rachel said she'd rather go to a club then have this house trashed, which is why I called one of my favorite clubs. We'll be going there tonight instead of staying here," Silena added. _So much for wanting to stay at Percy's house,_ I thought. I have a feeling Rachel sensed I wanted to, and purposely ruined that for me.

"What club?" Thalia asked.

"It's a surprise," Silena said, grinning. I felt the corner of my mouth twitch into a frown. I hate clubs. Especially after the time I ran into Rachel at that Karaoke shack. That was pure horror. I did enjoy singing, although. "I'm going to drive Percy's car since he doesn't know the way. I'll make it a surprise instead of telling him directions. So let's get in the car."

Great. More driving that makes me car sick.

I walked outside and hopped in Percy's car. This time, I sat in the middle seat in the back. Thalia sat next to me on my left, and Nico sat next to me on my right. Beckendorf sat shotgun and Percy and Rachel sat behind Silena and Beckendorf.

Silena began driving. I started talking to Nico. It must've been SUPER awkward being one person away from Thalia.

"How've you been?" I asked. I know, super lame questions today. I'm new at this.

Nico chuckled. "Never been better," he said sarcastically. I could tell he was embarrassed. I just don't know if he actually likes Thalia or not. It seems like Thalia liked him.

Boys, so oblivious.

I pulled out my phone. One missed call from Helen, my step-mom. She probably wanted to check how I was doing. I'd forgotten to tell her all about my vacation and how I met all my friends from when I was younger. How selfish of me, she was the one that set this whole thing up. I decided I'd call her right when I get to the club. We'd be there soon.

Sure enough, we arrived five minutes later. I hopped out and dialed my step-mom's number. The only person who bothered to wait for me that didn't walk right into the club was Thalia.

"Hi!" I heard my step-mom's voice.

"Helen! I'm sorry I missed your call, I-"

"You've reached Helen Chase's cell phone. Sorry I'm not here at the moment. Please leave a message at the beep."

I sighed and left a message about how I'm sorry I missed her call and I'd tell her everything about my vacation when I called her next.

"Everything okay?" Thalia asked when I hung up.

"Yea," I said. Then I raised an eyebrow. "Everything okay with you?"

She nodded, shoving her hands in her pockets. Then she walked with me towards the entrance of the club. I noticed it was called 'Webster Hall'.

When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was the giant disco ball. There were also multi colored lights and a bunch of people dancing on the dance floor. A bar was placed in the corner of the room.

"Well, I'm off," Thalia said, rubbing her temples. "I need a drink." She walked over to the bar, leaving me there. I tried finding Percy, Nico, Beckendorf, Silena, and even Rachel in the crowd of people, but I couldn't find anyone. So instead I walked to the dance floor and danced. I wasn't the best dancer, but I still enjoyed it. I was laughing, and in no time, one hour passed. I spotted Percy doing the robot in the corner. I was still laughing as I walked over to him. He started laughing about his childish dance moves as well.

Then we both started doing the robot. After a few minutes, the song changed to some random rap song. I walked off the dance floor with Percy.

"Where's Rachel?" I shouted over all the noise.

He shrugged. "I lost her a while ago." It's funny he wasn't even making an effort to find him. Well, if I were him, I would feel like I'd had enough Rachel for one day also. "I'm going to go eat something. Care to join me?"

"Sure," I shrugged. I walked over to the bar with him. They have food too. Percy ordered some salmon and I ordered a hamburger. Our food came soon enough. We ate really fast. Hockey games can make you hungry.

When we were done, we decided to find Silena and Beckendorf. Fifteen minutes later, we found them rocking out on the dance floor. Next, we searched for Thalia and Nico.

It was relatively hard finding them, but eventually, we did.

They were making out in the corner of the room near the bar.

**RESPONSES TO REVIEWS:**

**Ilovebooksbookworm: Thanks!**

**Zairinn: Haha! Thalico's okay, I definitely prefer Percabeth. Thanks! Yea, Justin Bieber sings like a girl…I was at the mall with my dad and sister and a song by Justin Bieber was playing. My sister asked my dad if he thought the singer was a girl or boy and he said girl. Don't feel bad about your story, it's taking me forever to update as well!**

**Worldsgreatest4ever: Thanks. That's terrible! I hate car accidents.**

**BloodyCrystals: Haha! We all wish…**

**Eagleyes111: Lol! Thanks so much. I just love your signature! Lucky that you have PJO book club at your school! I have a Hunger Games one but I never went. I should've. HAHAHA! APHRODITE CABIN BOYS? They should so have some girls there because girls obsess over hair and makeup (Most of them. None of my friends or me, lol). Poseidon's always good as well.**

**Readingpower: Thanks!**

**ME N NICO FOREVA: HA! Thanks so much! The link is in the above A/N.**

**Anonymous: Lol. Congrats! Thanks, I'm happy you like my stories.**

**SeaweedBrain33: Thanks so much!**

**Hellokittyfreak101: Thanks! Your welcome! :D**

**SouthAmericanGirl: Thanks soo much! Haha, thanks, that really makes me feel appreciated.**

**Juniper33: I know, Rachel's a bad person. You'll have to wait and see what happens. Thanks so much!**

**Starglow's Biggest fan: Thanks so much! Percabeth will be coming soon!**

**Littleangel: Thanks. Haha, I agree. I try my best.**

**I like pizza and I want it: Okay, about what, though? Thanks, it's okay!**

**Ei84136: Okay! Thx.**

**That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews! Now, off to play Assasins Creed Brotherhood and then go outside… **

**-starglow13**


	18. Anything But Ordinary

**I feel extremely guilty about my long hiatus. After that one week in December, I started doing other things and didn't check my e-mail at all. School started taking control of my whole life and I still don't really have time to do everything plus homework and studying for all these damn tests I get.**

**So, all in all, I'm sorry. I'm going to try to update frequently this week, considering I have a whole week off. I thank everyone who reviewed! I normally list you all, but I'm really tired right now! I started writing this at 11:08 PM (I have a pretty good memory) and just finished at 12:22 AM. I really wanted to get you guys a chapter in today. This chapter is really boring, it's just a filler chapter so I can get back in the swing of things. The interesting part is going to start happening soon in this story. For now, hang in there!**

**Also, for those of you who were wondering if I was going to write my take on Mark of Athena since I did the Son of Neptune, I don't think I will. It took me forever to finish TSON and took a lot of work. I'm even busier than I was last year.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**Chapter 16: Anything But Ordinary**

I awoke to the bright sunlight shining in my eyes. I squinted and stared out the window near the guest bed I was laying in. The sun was brighter than ever, and was beginning to burn my eyes.

Ahh, the joy of Tuesday mornings.

On Saturday morning, the day after we had the after party that was supposed to be at Percy's house, Thalia had a bad hangover. She was complaining about a major headache the whole day. I would be too, I guess, if I were in her position.

But I'm kinda' glad I'm not.

When I'd told her she was so drunk she sucked faces with Nico, she couldn't believe it. She got all red faced. She's still in denial about the whole thing.  
>Anyways, back to the fact that it's Tuesday. Today, Thalia starts work again. She's supposed to be at work at 7:30 AM. Right now it's 7:15. I struggled out of bed and got changed in a red turtle neck sweater and white jeans. I checked Thalia's room just to make sure she'd already left for work and wasn't going to be late. Her bed was empty, so she must've left a while ago.<p>

At least she managed to get out of bed at the right time.

I sighed. With Thalia at work until 4:00 PM, I'd be pretty bored the whole day. I'll probably just sit around and watch Twilight or something. It's actually a pretty funny movie.

I grabbed my cell off the kitchen table. I checked for any missed calls. None.

I sighed. Today is definitely going to be a long day.

Maybe I should brainstorm some ideas on what I should do today. Let's see, I could watch a movie, browse the internet, or go for a walk…  
>Actually, going for a walk seems like a really nice idea. After all, all truly great thoughts are conceived by walking. Even if it's a little cold out, all I have to do is dress appropriately and I'll only feel a nice breeze. I grabbed my scarf and put on a hat. I then put on my coat and walked outside, making sure to lock Thalia's house with the key she loaned me.<p>

I walked down the steps of Thalia's and walked along the sidewalk, gathering my thoughts.

I thought about Helen, my step-mom, and how she made this whole trip possible. I really do owe her. Yesterday, I called her and talked to her about this whole vacation. She couldn't believe that I ran into all my friends. It seemed a little unrealistic. Actually, it still does.

I also told her about all the sights for tourists to see, like the Empire State Building and such. A view of the city at night is beautiful.

I also thought about Nico, Percy, Thalia, Silena, Beckendorf, and Rachel. I haven't seen them since Saturday night. I wonder who ended up taking care of Nico during his painful state, otherwise known as his hangover.

I smiled to myself. I think Nico had a thing for Thalia—and vice versa. But there's no need in trying to set them up, Silena will probably take care of that for me.

My thoughts wandered to Rachel again. I can't believe the things she gets away with when talking to Percy. It's like she hypnotized him to believe whatever she says, no matter how untrue it sounds.

I scowl. Somebody has to believe me about Rachel's true cunning personality. It'd take a lot for someone to convince me that she was _nice_. I mean, I know she used to be when we were younger, but everything changed when she started hanging out with the girls that think the world only revolves around them.

I sarcastically laughed to myself. By now, I'd reached the city. It's pretty hard to run considering there are people and cars just about everywhere. I slowed down my pace and walked into Dunkin' Donuts. I walked up to the cashier and ordered a coffee. A few minutes later, my coffee was ready. I took it and walked back outside, sipping it as I walked back to Thalia's house.  
>Finally, when I got back, it was 9:00. I sat down on Thalia's couch and started watching <em>I Love Lucy<em> with Lucille Ball.

I stopped watching at around 10:30 when I got a phone call. I rushed to my cell phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi!" a girly voice on the other line said. I immediately recognized the voice.

"Rachel?" I asked, surprised.

"Yea," Rachel said casually. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or something."

I blinked. Rachel, the person that tormented me all through high school, wanted to 'hang out or something'. As much as I wanted to say 'hell no!', I promised Thalia I wouldn't fight with her. She said that I should actually listen to what Rachel had to say, since she's changed.

I rolled my eyes. "What do you have in mind?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over and have lunch with me and the girls."

Rachel and the girls? What is she talking about?

"Um, it's 10:30, don't you think it's a little early for lunch?"

"Annabeth, are you coming, or not?" Rachel snapped.

That's more like her.

"I guess," I said, shrugging.

"Great," Rachel said, her voice dripping with fake enthusiasm. "Come over ASAP." A second later, I heard the dial tone. Yay. This was going to be fun.  
>Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0<p>

I silently wondered why I ever agreed to go to Rachel's house.

When she said "me and the girls" earlier, she meant her, Mindy, and a few other girls that were part of Rachel's 'clique' in high school.

So, basically the girls did whatever Rachel did, which included making fun of me.

"Anny-beth!" they shouted when I walked in the house. My first impression was 'What the hell is going on?'

Rachel explained everything to me after seeing my expression. I guess she invited them over so we could 'bond' and 'put aside our differences and try to be friends'.  
>Of course, I had to oblige, considering I didn't come to Rachel's place (which is actually Percy's house) for nothing.<p>

"OMG! He's so sexy!" one of Rachel's friends squealed at the television screen. We were watching some romantic comedy with some C-list actors. I wasn't really paying attention to the movie. I'm only doing this for Thalia.

By the time the movie ended, it was 1:00 PM. Percy walked in a few minutes later and greeted Rachel.

"Girls, this is my_ fiancée_, Percy," Rachel introduced Percy to her friends, putting an emphasis on fiancée and starting right at me.

"Hi guys," Percy said kindly. Rachel's friends each greeted him. "Hey, Annabeth. It feels like I haven't seen you in forever."

"Yea," I agreed, "even though it was only Friday night." I snickered to myself, remembering the Nico-Thalia incident.

Percy laughed. "Unfortunately, I was the one that Nico ended up complaining to about his hangover. At least I got to tell him what he did with Thalia, though. You should've seen his face!" Percy laughed some more.

I joined in. "Yea, I had to take care of Thalia. My favorite part was also telling her that she made out with Nico. She was horrified and terribly red-faced."

Percy laughed, shaking his head. He then politely left to go to the kitchen to eat something, since he was hungry after work.

"Anyhoo," Rachel said, looking ticked like she always does when I engage in conversation with Percy, "I have to go do some shopping. Do you girls want to come with?" Rachel directed that last part to her other friends. They happily agreed. "Annabeth?" Rachel asked me, expecting my answer. I didn't want to be rude, but I always go shopping with her (at least I have since I came to NYC).

"I need to get home to Thalia," I said. "I have plans with her, sorry."

Rachel did look disappointed at all. "Okay, bye, then." She said, walking out with her clique. I followed closely behind, but then peeled away from the group and walked to the rental car I got when Thalia needed her car to go to work. I hopped in and started the engine. Then I drove back to Thalia's house. It was a short ride.

Thalia was still at work by the time I walked in. I threw the keys on the table and sat on the couch, ready to watch some more television to entertain me on this boring Saturday.

Normal people my age would probably be out with friends instead of spending their time watching kids shows and soap operas while eating popcorn.

Then again, you could say I don't exactly fit the description of 'normal'.

**Thanks so much for reading this, for those of you that actually did! I know I haven't updated for two months, and I hope you can forgive me. I know virtual cookies won't really make you happy, but I guess it's the thought that counts, so virtual cookies for everyone!**

**I would respond to all your reviews, but like I said in the A/N above, I'm super tired. If you asked a question in your review, please ask it again so I can respond to it next chapter!**

**-starglow13**


	19. Well, That's a Peculiar Sight

**Hey guys! I'm back from the dead. I had exams this week, so things were really hectic. I could apologize to you guys again, but I don't want to waste your time! I hope you know by now that I really am sorry for my lack of updating. To make it up to you guys, I have a chapter that has 2,720 words. I worked hard on it for you guys. IT ALSO PICKS UP FROM THE LAST CHAPTER, BTW, SO IT'S STILL THE SAME DAY. PLUS, it has lots of ACTION, ranging from new boyfriends, to scandals. I hope you guys like it! Oh, and thanks to each and every one of my reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO! All rights go to Rick Riordan, the creator.**

**Chapter 17: Well, That's a Peculiar Sight**

I started laughing crazily, my eyes glued to the television screen. I'm currently watching The Housewives of New Jersey. This one girl on the show started fighting with this other girl. It's crazy funny! They keep saying these shitty comebacks. I can't seem to get enough of this! I've been watching it for three hours straight.

Ah, I officially have no life.

Anyway, it's 4:02 now. Thalia should be here soon. I can't wait to tell her about how nice I was to Rachel. She'll be proud of me for actually keeping all of the rude things about Rachel that I've wanted to say to her forever in my head.

A few minutes later (finally after the two girls on The Housewives of New Jersey stopped fighting), Thalia came home.

"Hey, blondie!"

"Don't call me that."

"It suits you, though, because you're blonde."

"So? People initially think that people who are blonde are dumb. News flash, that's only in the movies. I find it quite-"

"Relax, Annabeth," Thalia said, chuckling. "I didn't say anything about you being a dumb blonde. I only called you 'blondie'."

I huffed. I really get sensitive when people call me blonde. Because, in case you haven't noticed, I'm the exact opposite of dumb.

Not to brag.

"So, what did you do today?" Thalia asked me, throwing her keys on the kitchen counter.

"Well, Rachel invited me over."

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You didn't say and/or do anything bad, now, did you?"

I mimicked Thalia's facial expression. "I'll have you know I was nice to that girl! And I did it for you, too. I remembered what you said the other day and thought that I'd try being nice to her for one day. Of course, she didn't really throw buckets of kindness back at me, but-"

"Buckets of kindness?" Thalia interrupted, laughing.

"N-no!" I spluttered. "I meant that she didn't exactly, well, you know…" Thalia looked at me expectantly with a funny look on her face. I face palmed myself. "Anyway, how was going back to work?"

"Eh, it was all right. I mean, who likes work?"

"I do."

"But that's because you have your dream job—being an architect."

"Well, what's your dream job?" Thalia looked kinda hesitant to tell me. "C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"I…I want to be an accountant. But I'm bad with math."

"And what's so bad about having your own dream?"

Thalia smiled. "Well, I do have another dream job."

"And what's that?" I casually asked.

"Being Justin Bieber's background singer. You know, so I could mess up the lyrics. Like, for his song 'Boyfriend', during the chorus I can be all, 'If you were my boyfriend, I'd never let you go. Keep you in my pants boy, you'd never be alone. I can be a gentleman, anything you want. If you were my boyfriend, I'd never let you go.'"

Thalia and I shared a laugh.

"Good dream to pursue," I said, pressing my hand against my gut to prevent myself from laughing any harder. I'm starting to give myself a headache.

"I know, right?" Thalia said, smirking.

O0o0Oo0Oo0Oo0oO0

Thirty minutes later, Thalia, Silena and I are driving to Nico's house. However, Thalia doesn't know where we're going. After we finished laughing for five minutes straight, I told Thalia I wanted to take her somewhere, and that it was a surprise. She agreed to it, but she had to get ready first, since she'd just come from work. I decided it would be a good idea to get her and Nico on back on good terms. You know, since they kinda' made out while they were drunk at the bar that one night. Who knows how awkward it's going to be.

Anyway, I decided to invite Silena because she's kind of obsessed with setting people up. When I told her that I thought Thalia and Nico should be an item, she totally agreed with me. She's going to come over to Nico's today so we can get Thalia and him together. That's really the main reason I wanted to drive Thalia to Nico's.

"We're here!" I said, pulling up in Nico's driveway. Nico already knows Silena and I are coming over, but he doesn't know about Thalia.

"Can I take this damn blindfold off now?" Thalia asked me. Oh, right. I put a blindfold on her so she wouldn't peek. She knows what Nico's house looks like, and she would make me turn this car around right away if she saw where I was taking her. She's been itching to take it off ever since then.

"Nope," I cheerfully said. Silena then helped me get Thalia out of the car and up to Nico's front door. I rang the doorbell.

"Are we at someone's house?" Thalia asked, with a dumbstruck look on her face. Silena and I exchanged a glance and laughed. "No. No! This can't be happening! I'm leaving!" Thalia suddenly realized where we were, and struggled to get loose from Silena's and my grip. We just held on to her tighter.

As soon as I saw Nico start walking to open the front door of his house, I ripped the blindfold off of Thalia's face, just so things didn't look suspicious.

Nico opened the door. "Hey Annabeth, Silena," he greeted us. He then casually looked at Thalia. "Oh, hey Thalia," he casually (again with that word) said. A few seconds later, he began to realize that the one and only _**THALIA**_ was there, and got that embarrassed look on his face, his cheeks as red as a tomato. He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Thalia?...What are you doing here?"

Thalia's face was equally as red. "You tell me," she said in her badass attitude.

"We just wanted to hang out with you, Nico!" Silena said.

"Speak for yourself," Thalia murmured.

"C-come in," Nico said nervously, opening the door for us to walk in. We all walked in.

"Nice place," I said. I'd never been to Nico's house. Nico gave me the directions from Thalia's house, though, just so I could visit today.

"Thanks," Nico said. As soon as everyone was in the house, Nico shut the door. "Well, this'll be fun." He muttered.

There were a couple seconds of awkward silence until Thalia said, "I'll be right back. I need to take a waz." She walked toward the bathroom.

"O-okay," Nico said, confused by her casual (AGAIN WITH THE WORD) behavior.

"Let's get down to business," Silena said as soon as Thalia shut the bathroom door.

"What business?" Nico asked, scared. Silena had this creepy look in her eyes, so I can't blame him.

"You're going to go on a date with Thals, whether you like it or not."

"But, I can't just ask her out! She'll make fun of me for liking her and I'll never hear the end of it!"

"How do you know she doesn't like you back?"

"Well, I don't. But it's unlikely.."

"Just grow a pair and ask her out, Nico!" I said. "She likes you, trust me, and it's obvious you like her to!"

Nico looked stunned by my sudden outburst. What? You can't blame me. I'm sick of these two both thinking that the other doesn't like them, because it's obviously obvious they both like each other.

And by like, I'm mean loooove.

That's when Thalia came back from the bathroom. She was walking toward us, but then halted, a confused look on her face when she saw each of our expressions.

Nico's = Nervous.

Mine = Pissed.

Silena's = Psycho looking.

"What's going on here?" Thalia asked, hands on her hips.

"Um, Thalia. Can I ask you something?" Nico asked. I suppressed a laugh. He's ASKING her if he can ASK her something. Haha!

Okay, now I really do feel like a dumb blonde.

Thalia nodded. "Anything."

"Would you like to go out with me tonight?" Nico said hastily.

Thalia's face turned red. "Y-yes!" She stuttered. "I'd love to." Nico slowly began to relax. His shoulders became less tense.

"Great!" he said, grinning. Thalia smiled in response.

No one really knew what to do after that. I sorta' felt awkward here, ruining Nico and Thalia's moment. By the look on Silena's face, I'm sure she did too. However, we couldn't just leave. That'd be rude.

"So…what now?" Nico asked.

"Let's go-" Silena started, but Thalia interrupted her.

"I swear, if I hear 'shopping' come out of your mouth ONE more time, you're done for."

"Um, never mind," Silena said.

"We can play video games," Nico suggested. Video games isn't really my thing…and I'm sure it's not Silena's thing either.

However, Thalia beat us to it. "Okay!" She said excitedly. "You got COD?"

"Yea," Nico said, smilling.

Thalia smirked, rubbing her hands together as if she was hatching some crazy plan. "Time for me to kick your ass."

They rushed upstairs where Nico's xbox was.

"Um, bye, I guess!" Silena said. Then she looked at me and giggled. "Let's ditch 'em. We'll take Thalia's car and leave, forcing Nico to drive her back home."

"Okay," I said, laughing. Silena and I then ran out of Nico's house and drove over to Percy's, ready to tell them about the exciting news.

0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0oO0

I rang Percy's doorbell as soon as Silena and I arrived. Rachel opened the door, looking like a raccoon. Her mascara was smeared and it looked like she'd been crying.

Silena gasped. "Are you okay?"

Rachel shook her head. "Percy and I just got in a fight." Rachel actually sounded sad. I felt kinda' bad for her.

"You can tell me if you want," Silena said. "I just want you to know I'm here for you."

"Thanks, but I don't really want to talk about it right now," Rachel said.

"Okay, I understand. How about Annabeth and I make it up to you by going shopping and getting manicures?" I inwardly groaned. Of course, shopping was brought up again. I started to wish I stayed back with Nico and Thalia at Nico's place.

"Okay," Rachel said. Looking at me.

"C'mon, let's get you in the car," I said sweetly. I'm actually started to feel really bad for her. I know Percy's a good guy, but Rachel seems very…sensitive. However, who knows **why** she's crying? She could be sad, or...guilty of something she did and feels bad about it.

I decided not to question her. Now is really not a good time.

Rachel and Silena sat in the back of the car so Silena could console Rachel. That left me to drive. Anything's better than sitting in the back with an emotional redhead.

Not that I don't like emotional redheads. It's just, I'm not really good with comforting people. I always awkwardly just put my arm around them and say, "It's okay".'

Anyway, in no time, we arrived at the mall. Rachel and Silena hurried off to the manicure place. Nail Trix, or something like that. I followed closely behind them.

"How may I help you?" the woman who worked at Nail Trix said. Her nametag read 'Claire'.

"We'd like three manicures," Silena said. Claire had all three of us take a seat in these comfortable chairs while we waited for three employees to come out.

Eventually, three people did. They had us each pick a nail polish color. I chose a pretty sky blue color, while Silena chose a bright purple color and Rachel chose a bright pink color.

After the woman who was giving me a manicure finished, she had me dry my nails with a nail drier. As soon as I finished, I paid the woman and examined my nails. They looked fantastic!

"Wow, thank you so much! They look great!" I told her.

"Your welcome," she said, happy that she just pleased a customer.

I waited for Rachel and Silena to be done. When they finally were, Rachel decided she wanted to explore the mall.

And that's just what we did. We went to Hats 'N Things and tried on these crazy hats, and I even bought this cool sea-green camera at the electronic store! We also went to the food court and ate Chinese food. After that, we went to DEB and created crazy outfits and tried on the prom dresses. I took pictures of us together with my new camera.

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I actually had a good time. Plus, I didn't say one mean thing to Rachel and vice versa. Who knew a girl who hated shopping could actually have fun spending two hours at the mall?

I plopped down on a chair in DEB and huffed. "I'm exhausted," I told the others. "My feet hurt from walking in those high heels." Rachel and Silena giggled. I created this crazy outfit with heels, sunglasses, a hat, and a short black dress and was modeling it for everyone in the store. I'm sure those people thought I was crazy.

"I guess we should go home now," Silena said, yawning.

"Wait!" Rachel said. "I had a really good time with you guys today. How about you come over and have a sleepover? It'll be fun! Besides, Percy's not home anyways. He told me he was going somewhere tonight. Anyway, whaddya say?"

"Yes!" Silena immediately said. They both looked at me, waiting for an answer.

"Sure, why not?" They began squealing. It's the least I could do for Rachel, anyways.

"Cool! You can even bring the camera you brought so we can maybe print out the pictures," Silena said.

"Sounds like a plan!" I told them.

"Okay! Be at my house at 7:00 PM," Rachel said. That's in one hour. It'll give me some time to pack.

We walked out of the mall and into the parking lot. I then drove Rachel and Silena home.

"See you guys later!" I said. Then I drove back to Thalia's. I parked her car in the garage and walked in the house, ready to have another good time with Silena and Rachel.

I'm really looking forward to this sleepover.

0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo

I decided to ride Thalia's bike over to Rachel's house. Thalia needs her car for work tomorrow, so it was the next best option. Since Thalia wasn't home (She's still on her date with Nico), I decided to take her bike. It's not like she's going to need it.

With my purse full of all my belongings safely on my shoulder, I rode to Rachel's. It was only about a ten-minute ride. When I got there, there was a car in the driveway. I guess Silena beat me here.

I rang the doorbell. No answer. I rang again and waited three minutes. Still no answer. I checked my watch, to make sure it was the right time. It's 6:45. I wanted to come a little earlier to help Rachel set things up. I started brainstorming about all of the bad things that could've happened. Each were possibilities. Rachel could've slipped and fell down the stairs when trying to answer the doorbell, or maybe she…

I shook those thoughts out of my head. Rachel's too young to die. Instead of ringing the doorbell again, I walked in the house.

"Rachel? You there?" I yelled. I heard some slight noises coming from upstairs. I walked up the stairs. Maybe Silena and Rachel were just expecting me to come in there.

Then I thought of an idea. I think it'd be funny to scare her by barging in the room. I could take a picture of her screaming and then keep it for a good laugh later on. I'm sure Rachel will think it's funny. I grabbed my camera out of my backpack and prepared myself. Next, I ran into the bedroom, the room she was in. I figured she was just watching a movie or something with Silena, and that nothing bad would happen.

Boy, was I wrong.

As soon as I barged in, I screamed 'RAWRR!' like a monster. Rachel screamed as well.

So did the dude she was making out with.

I snapped a photo just in time, expecting to take a picture of JUST Rachel and only Rachel.

However, I snapped one of her half naked on a bed with some random guy that didn't have his shirt on that's NOT Percy.

Well, that's just peculiar.

**OOOH! Things just got messy! Expect another chapter soon, hopefully! Sadly, this story will end in about 3-4 chapters. Anyway, bye bye for now!**

**-starglow13**


	20. Dirty Little Secrets

**Words can't express how sorry I am, guys. Life's been super busy, which is why I tried to make up for it by making a chapter that has exactly 3,765 words (one of my longest). I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. I read every single review, and I'm delighted when I receive them, which is why I'd really appreciate a review, but I understand if you don't want to.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**Chapter 18: Dirty Little Secrets**

I dropped my new, sea-green camera on the floor. I could almost see it falling in slow-mo like they'd have in some dramatic movie.

Just when I was beginning to think Rachel was changing into a better person, she goes and blows it. In fact, I no longer thought highly of her (not that I ever really did) after what she did. How could she do something like that? Cheat on her fiancée, I mean. Percy's not just any fiancée, though. I could tell he really cared about her; after all, he listened to her and believed everything she said. He was beyond great.

He was _perfect._

I shook those thoughts out of my head, switching back to reality. Now's not the time to fantasize about Percy.

"Get out!" Rachel screeched, pointing a manicured bright pink finger at me. The same finger she got manicured with Silena and me earlier. When I thought we were friends.

"I can't believe this," I muttered. "Rachel, how could you do this to Percy?" I was devastated. I don't want to be the one to tell Percy, but who else is going to. Rachel? I think not.

"Um, I better be going," the man that Rachel was making out with grumbled awkwardly. He grabbed his shirt from the ground and made a run for the door. I moved out of his way.

"I can explain," Rachel said under her breath, clutching the blanket to the bed. She looked exhausted and unhappy. A tear slid down her perfectly flawless face. Soon, more joined that lone tear.

"I don't think you have to." I picked my camera up from the ground and ran out the door. I was running so fast down the stairs I almost slipped.

"You're a bitch, you know that?!" Rachel screeched from upstairs. "I never liked you! You're just jealous that I have Percy and you don't!" I'm pretty sure she's not going to 'have' Percy for much longer. "That's _it_, you envy me! You've done nothing but try to split Percy and me up! Ever since you got here, you have tried RUINED my love life with Percy!" I grabbed my coat and slipped my sneakers on, smirking.

"You've ruined it on your own, Rachel." I grabbed the door behind me and shut it. My bike was the only thing in the driveway, which meant that the car that was there earlier had left. It must've been that man's car. I hopped on the seat of my bike and began to drive away.

"Bye bye, Rachel. Hope you like your solitude from now on, because I'm positive you'll be alone by tomorrow," I whispered, waving my arm at Percy's house.

0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo

The ride home was relaxing. I would've enjoyed it more if Rachel weren't on my mind for the whole ride. I was the only one that saw through her – the one that realized she was fake. I'm surprised Percy hasn't figured it out by now. I've got to admit, he's pretty obtuse.

I pulled into Thalia's tan driveway. I opened her garage door, entering the key code. The doors slowly opened. With each waking second, I began to feel guilty and guiltier. I know I did nothing wrong, but for some reason, I just felt…guilt. I really thought Rachel was my friend again, and it feels wrong to go against her like this. The tears that slid down her face made it look like she was genuinely sorry…

But I have to tell; it must be done. She was the one that caused this, anyway.

I parked the bike in Thalia's driveway, closed the garage doors, and walked into Thalia's house. I locked the door behind me.

"Thalia!" I shouted, wondering if Thalia was home yet. I walked to the front of the stairs. "You there?"

No answer. Guess she's still at Nico's. Sighing, I plopped down on the couch, ready to collect my thoughts. I began to wonder when I should call Percy and drop the bomb. I don't want to call him tonight, because Rachel said he went out. He's probably having a good time with his friends. I don't want to ruin it for him.

I finally decided on telling him tomorrow. That'd be best, considering I haven't even gotten to tell Thalia yet. I know it seems wrong that I'd tell my best friend a secret concerning Percy's _fiancée_ before actually telling Percy, but I think Thalia can help me figure out how to tell Percy.

My stomach grumbled hungrily. I checked the time on the wall-clock. 7:04 PM. Rachel said we'd eat at her house at the sleepover, so I specifically didn't eat anything. I opened the fridge door. A cold blast of air slapped me in the face. There was a jar of pickles, milk, cheese, bread, jelly, lettuce, eggs, and different sorts of fruits. I opened her pantry, only to find cereal, peanut butter, chips, and some granola bars. I opened up the milk and poured it into a bowl. I grabbed a box of Raisin Nut Bran and poured it into the milk. Cereal doesn't really seem like dinner, but I honestly don't feel like making anything to eat. I'm not really in the mood, in case you haven't guessed.

I sat down at the kitchen table and began to dig into the cereal. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until my stomach began to growl. I guess I was thinking about Rachel so much that I didn't realize I needed food.

I finished the bowl of Raisin Nut Bran within ten minutes. I can be a slow eater sometimes. I'm feeling sort of sluggish now, which is why everything I'm doing has been the opposite of quick.

I washed my bowl in the sink and left it there. I trudged up the stairs, walking into the guest bedroom Thalia let me sleep in. I stood there, glancing at everything. I hadn't really taken a good look of where I was practically _living_ for the next month. The walls were light green, the carpet white. There was a queen size bed with a pretty brown tree pattern on the covers. Three pictures were scattered throughout the room – one had a beautiful picture of the ocean, another one had a picture of a skyscraper. The last one was a picture of Thalia when she was younger. She looked almost the same. There was a dresser across from the bed and a full-length mirror sitting next to it. I glanced at my reflection. I almost had this crazed look in my eyes. My hair was sticking up a bit in the back, and my pants were somehow ripped on the bottom. I didn't even notice that happened. It probably happened when I was riding Thalia's bike.

I plopped down on the comfortable bed. I was dreading the future – I really wasn't eager to tell Thalia and Percy the news.

But, as stated earlier, someone has to do it. And that person has to be me.

With that thought on my mind, I closed my eyes. I'd had a long day, and I could definitely use some sleep. I know it's only 7:15 PM, but I woke up pretty early today since it was Thalia's first day back at work. Which reminds me, Thalia should be getting home soon. She has work tomorrow morning and has to be at the office at 7:30.

I let my thoughts wander to anything but Rachel, Percy, and Thalia. I can't fall asleep feelings stressed out.

Eventually, my body went numb, and I began to dream of the past. I dreamed about Thalia and Percy when they were younger. I dreamed about the time Rachel was nice to me in high school. Then I dreamed about us staying friends and attending the same college.

Of course, that didn't happen.

0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo

I woke up at 6:00 in the morning. It was still dark outside, but I didn't care. I hopped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom. I got ready for the morning; I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and hopped into the shower. The warm water felt nice against my back. I washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner and then washed my body. Finally, when I was clean, I jumped out of the shower and put on a white cami and a teal off-the-shoulder shirt over that. I matched it with white jeans and a matching teal headband.

I walked down the stairs, expecting Thalia to be up. It's 6:45 right now. She has to be at work at 7:30.

Thalia wasn't there, though. I searched for a note, checking if she'd left me anything concerning her absence. Worried, I rushed upstairs to check if she was in her bedroom. That seemed like the most logical thing to do since she wasn't upstairs. However, she wasn't in her room, either.

I ran downstairs and checked the phone for any missed calls to see if Thalia had called to tell me what happened. Sure enough, there was one missed call from her cell phone.

"Hey, Annabeth. If you get this message, I'd just like you to know that I'm staying at Nico's house tonight. He's too tired to drive me home, and since you stole my freaking car, there's no other option." Actually, there is, you could call a cab. But I'm not complaining; you stay there as long as you want, Thalia. ;) "So, yea. Later." I heard her hang up. I sighed happily. Finally, her relationship with Nico was taking off. I'm so happy Silena and I managed to convince Nico to actually ask her out. If he refused, we would've attempted to try Thalia. I don't think she would've gone for that, though. I could picture her saying, "Boys chase me; I don't chase them."

I walked to the fridge, snickering. I opened the box of eggs in Thalia's refrigerator, pulled out a frying pan, and began to cook some sunny-side up eggs. I managed to pop some whole wheat bread in the toaster while doing so. I'm _quite_ the multi-tasker. I sat down at Thalia's kitchen table and ate my eggs as a sandwich on bread. That's the way my dad used to make them. Oh, how I miss him. I should probably give him a call soon.

I rinsed my plate off in the sink and set it in the dishwasher. I figured it's the least I could do for Thalia – washing the dishes. I rinsed off each item and then carefully placed them in Thalia's fancy dishwasher. Then I put in some detergent and turned it on. The dishwasher began to hum quietly.

I ended up standing there for a few minutes, pondering what I should do next. I don't really feel like going on a walk since it's still dark outside (It's 7:00 AM). I've watched too much television these past few days. I checked that off my mental list of what to do. I can't play a board game because I have no one to play it with…

Then it hit me. I should call Percy and reveal Rachel's secret.

But Percy doesn't usually get up until around 9:00 in the morning. He sleeps late. Plus, I was going to tell Thalia first, and I can't do that until she comes home. I decided I'd call my dad instead. He's a morning person just like me.

I dialed his number and listened to the phone ring. It seemed to go off endlessly, until someone picked up.

"Hello?" my dad asked.

"Hi, Dad, it's Annabeth," I greeted him.

"Annabeth! How are you? How's New York? Helen told me a bit about what you told her the other day. Are you having fun?"

I laughed, "One at a time, Dad." Gradually, I began to answer each of his questions. I told him _everything_, including what happened between Percy and Rachel. He's one of the few people I can really trust. I also told him all about Rachel and Percy's wedding. Well, I don't know if the wedding is still going to go on because of what Rachel did, but I still told my father anyway.

"…and now I'm staying at Thalia's house. She's been really welcoming, and her house is so cozy! I love it here," I gushed. That was one of the few things I told my father that was actually _good_ about this trip.

"Well, that's a lot to take in," Dad said. "I'm glad you're doing well, sweetie."

"Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate you listening to my ranting."

"No problem. Isn't that what dad's are for?" Dad chuckled. "Anyway, I have to get going. Helen and I are attending a party that her friend is hosting. Call me again soon, okay?"

"All right-y," I told my dad, hanging up.

Time certainly flew by after that. I did a few chores around the house for Thalia and cleaned up the guest bedroom I was staying in. I wanted to make sure everything was squeaky clean for Thalia's arrival. It's always nice to come home to a clean house. I also did the laundry and cleaned the stove.

By the time I finished, it was 11:00. I'd been working for quite some time. I decided I'd take a break. I sat down on Thalia's recliner and played with my phone for a while. I was getting more anxious as time passed. Soon, Thalia would be home, which means it'd be time to tell her what happened. Then I'd have to tell Percy, and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that.

I stood up, contemplating what I'd tell Percy. "Hey, um, Perce? I called just to let you know your girlfriend is cheating on you-" No, scratch that. "Hi, Percy. I just thought I'd inform you-" No, sounds too formal.

That's how I spent the next thirty minutes. I later realized that was a waste of time. I'd tell Percy the truth and I'd get right to the point so I wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

Finally, it was 4:00. I waited for Thalia's arrival. And waited. And waited.

It's 4:30, and still no Thalia.

I sighed. She probably got stuck in traffic. I went upstairs and opened a book about Greek mythology. It was my favorite subject growing up. I remember loving to learn about all of the Greek gods and traditions. For a period of time, I began to say "Oh my gods" instead of "Oh my God or oh my gosh". Yea, I wash that obsessed. I even bought an Athena shirt (since she was my favorite goddess). I wore it one day and everybody called me a dork. I didn't care what others thought, though, as long as I was happy. I go by the saying "If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased."

I ended up getting lost in my book. Finally, I checked the time. It was 6:00 PM. I began to worry. Thalia still wasn't home.

I set my book down and walked down the stairs. I reached in my pocket for my cell and dialed Thalia's number. It kept ringing, until finally, it went to voicemail. "Hey, it's Thalia. Sorry for not answering the phone – oh, unless you're Annabeth. Then I'm _not_ sorry." Then there was a beep. I quickly hung up the phone. Thalia sounded pretty pissed on that voicemail…but why? I did nothing to hurt her feelings…I wonder what caused the stick up her ass.

I tried calling again, but still no answer. Instead, I called Nico. He didn't answer his phone, either…but at least he didn't change his voicemail to something rude directed to me.

I decided to take a ride to Nico's house. Maybe Thalia would be there. I really wanted to find out what was going on with her.

I hopped in the rental car I rented. I drove over to Nico's, carefully abiding by the speed limit.

I nervously jumped out of the car and walked to the front door. I rang the doorbell and waited. No answer. I rang it again. Still no answer.

Then that answers my question. Thalia was probably at Percy's house. I don't know why, but I guess I won't know until I go there. I really don't want to face Rachel.

But I guess I'm going to have to.

I hopped in the car and drove to Percy's. This time, I got there in less than two minutes. I might've gone a bit over the speed limit. I just wanted to get it over with.

And so I did.

I ran to Percy's front door and rang the doorbell. Soon enough, somebody came to the door and look out through the little window to see who was waiting at the door. I then heard yelling, and I'm pretty sure I heard my name. Next, the same person that looked out to see who it was opened the door. He didn't look welcoming at all. He didn't open the door wide enough for me to walk in.

"Annabeth," Nico coldly addressed me. "Do you need anything?"

I was bewildered at this point. "Um, yea, I was wondering if Tha-" I got cut off by somebody else that appeared next to Nico.

"I'm here, but I wish you weren't," Thalia said next to Nico. I winced. That really hit me hard. I can't believe she'd say something like that…

But then again, I've found that I've been wrong a lot lately.

"Thalia, why are you so mad at me? What did I do to you?" I asked carefully, trying to avoid a fight.

But, of course, Thalia being Thalia, she turned it into a fight.

"You know what you did, Annabeth! That was just so un-classy, coming from you! I'd never expect you to do something like that, but I guess I was wrong." Her words really stung.

I was beginning to think _Rachel_ had something to do with this.

"What'd she tell you?" I snarled. That. Little. Brat.

Thalia smirked. "Everything. She told me what you said to her last night, and what you did."

"What did I do, Thalia?! She made that all up! I did nothing last night, if anything, _Rachel_ was the one that-"

"I've heard enough," Thalia said, on the verge of tears. So was I. "you don't need to explain what you did. We already know."

"Who's 'we'," I politely asked, gathering myself together. I wiped a tear from my cheek.

Thalia opened the door a bit more, only to reveal all three (excluding Rachel, of course) of my other friends standing there.

Silena, Beckendorf, Percy, Rachel, Nico, and Thalia all had looks of disappoint on their faces. Rachel appeared to be crying.

Of course.

"To think you'd do that, Annabeth. Just when we were becoming friends," Rachel choked. I've got to hand it to her, she's quite the actress.

"Yea, okay," I said sarcastically to her. "Blame it all on me. But you and I _both _know what actually happened last night. _You_ were the one that-" Rachel began to sob louder, burying her head into Percy's shoulder.

"Make it stop," Rachel sobbed. Percy stepped outside.

"You guys can go back to what you were doing, I'll handle this," Percy said, sounding extremely disappointed.

That also stung.

He shut the door behind us so it was just us. I tried to suck up the tears, but failed. They rolled down my cheeks.

"She told me you called her names last night," Percy said softly. I rolled my eyes. That's honestly not that bad. Still, it was extremely rude of her to lie.

"Why is everyone acting like I killed someone? And I didn't even-"

Percy cut me off. "That's not all she said about you."

"Oh, yea? Well then why don't you enlighten me." I was beginning to feel tired of Rachel's actions. I didn't mean to come across as rude.

"She said you hurt her. Physically and emotionally. She even showed me the spot you hit her. It left a bruise, you know." Percy's voice was so low and emotional I almost started sobbing in front of him.  
>But I didn't. Instead, I thought one word: wow. So Rachel said I beat her, and everyone else believed it. Not only is she a good actress, but she must be a pretty good make-up artist as well.<p>

"And you believed her? Percy, I'd never hurt _anybody_!" I began to raise my voice.

"I'm not sure if I can believe that anymore, Annabeth. You put green hair dye in the shampoo bottle at our house just to humiliate Rach in public. I don't know if I can trust you anymore - especially not after what you did yesterday. You've certainly changed. _You're_ not the Annabeth I know. Or at least, _used_ to know." And with that final word, Percy stepped back into the house, shutting the door in my face. He made sure to lock it.

I'm pretty sure my expression was dumbstruck. I didn't blink for a whole minute. I was still taking everything in.

"I didn't do it, I swear!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

But my voice only echoed in the distance. Nothing else happened.

As if in a trance, I began to walk towards my car. Tears kept rolling down my cheeks. I stepped on the gas and drove around aimlessly, unaware of where I was going.

That's when it happened. A car began speeding toward me, out of control.

I snapped out of it and quickly turned, evading the car. Thank the gods. I almost died.

I shook my head and walked out of the car, too scared to continue to drive. I'd parked near a park, anyway, so I figured I'd get some fresh air. I sat down on a pretty sky-blue park bench and hugged my knees, rocking back and forth.

And then I cried. I let it all out. I even managed to scream Rachel's name a few times at the top of my lungs. Good thing no one was at the park.

And the reason for my madness: Rachel. Sounds pretty obvious. She's the one that made up all the lies about me. What made me feel worse was that everyone actually _believed_ _her_. They could see _me_ doing something like that. That's what really got under my skin.

As expected from the beginning, Rachel's managed to turn everyone against me, just like high school. Thalia was wrong: some people _don't_ change.

**Thank you so much for reading! You guys don't know how much I appreciate it. I'm starting the next chapter now. I just wanted to get this one out so you don't have to wait any longer.**

**I'm **_**not**_** abandoning this story, no worries. Thank you guys for waiting.**

**-starglow13**


	21. Not All Wishes Come True

**Hey, guys & gals! I bring to you today: chapter 19 of You Again. I really hope you guys like this one. It's quite short, but in case you haven't noticed, I've lost most of my inspiration for this story. I'm trying to get it back, don't worry. I definitely won't abandoned it, seeing as I've come this far already. In fact, the story is almost finished. Anyways, here are some responses to reviews(which reminds me: thanks to all of those that reviewed! I read them all ****):**

**Guest: I'm sorry you feel that way. I understand that Rachel's personality has been majorly changed, but I really wanted to use a character from the PJO books so that the readers could actually picture and maybe even relate to the character better. Rachel's past was just like the book part, except I altered her after that. Rachel seemed like the most fitting character to turn into a bitch since she was fairly rich.**

**Eagleyes111: Thank you so much; I'm glad you had faith in me (one of the few, lol)! **** It really means a lot since you are one of my frequent reviewers.**

**I didn't really get any questions in the reviews. Anyway, I'd like to do some random birthday shout-outs for December since it's my birthmonth (you guys should tell me when your b-days are so I can update/ say happy birthday on your b-days):**

**DECEMBER 6****TH**

**One of my friends from school. **

**December 7****th****:**

**Happy birthday to Carolyn and Kopp! :D**

**December 8****th****:**

**Happy birthday to my sister & me! XD *****woop woop*******

**December 9****th****:**

**Happy birthday to Lee-Ann!**

**And lastly, December 10****th****:**

**Happy birthday to Michaela!**

**Lots o' b-days for December (and there's more to come). Okay, this is a long A/N, so I'm going to stop here and let you guys actually read the story now. Onward!**

**Disclaimer: rainbows**

**Chapter 19: Not All Wishes Come True**

I dragged myself to Thalia's front door. The wind seemed colder than ever, almost uninviting. The sky was no longer a pretty pink shade, but a dark, black color. I didn't spot one single star in the serene night sky. However, all of the bright lights in New York City make up for clear nights like this. All of the lights alone seemed to be enough to light up an entire galaxy.

I clutched the cold, metal key from my jeans pocket then slid the key into the slot. The door warmly opened itself, _inviting_ me inside.

Too bad it was an inanimate object that didn't have feelings. I'd have been happy to know that at least _one_ thing didn't have it out for me today.

I slid into the cozy room. A burst of warm air smacked me in the face. The secure atmosphere made me want to lay on the couch, drink some frothy hot chocolate, and send all of my worries away to an area way off in the distance. I wanted to be lulled to sleep by the unstable sound of water crashing on water, waves in the distance.

My day would have definitely been made if Thalia were here. I do sincerely hope she _hears_ me out before _kicking_ me out. Sighing (I've been doing that all too often lately), I stripped myself of my coat and hung it up in the closet. I pulled off my sneakers, throwing them carelessly on the forest-green doormat in front of the door. I strolled upstairs, feeling depressed, slightly wrathful, and contempt. I sprung myself onto the smooth, commodious bed, allowing myself to get comfortable. There was nothing I could do about what happened today. I'd have to wait it out - let everyone settle down. Then I'd explain what _actually_ happened and beg for forgiveness, if needed.

Not that _I_ had to be the one begging.

Rachel was the one that had actually done something wrong. So, needless to say, when I found out about her dirty little secret, she had to think of a way to… Well, to rid of me.

And killing me was probably out of the question, considering she'd go to jail, which was worse than having Percy find out about her cheating.

So, instead, she formulates a plan to shut me up. She turns everyone against me, expecting them to ignore me for eternity.

I shifted on Thalia's bed. I was beginning to feel more uncomfortable as time went by. Instead of thinking about Rachel and everyone else, I opened my Greek mythology book and started where I left off. Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, was in the middle of an altercation with the renowned Poseidon, god of the sea.

I continued to read for what seemed like hours. When I checked the time after I finished around four chapters, I found out that it was 9:00 PM, well passed my bed-time. I closed the book and set it back onto the end table next to me. I then shut my eyes, silently wishing that I'd dream of happy things instead of sad things. Just before I fell asleep, I realized that I hadn't eaten dinner. I wasn't hungry, however; I'd lost my appetite due to previous _unfortunate_ events.

With that last thought on my mind, I fell asleep, dreaming of blissful scenery on warm summer-y evenings.

At least one thing I'd hoped for came true.

0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo

The first thing I'd heard was the slamming of a door, followed by a shout.

"Thanks! Bye!" I heard Thalia's voice screech. However, I was way too tired at the moment to process anything, so of course, when I extend my arm to move the alarm clock towards me so I could see what time it was, I ended up hitting myself in the face. I scrunched my face up in pain.

"You look attractive." I whirled my head to the side, only to see a sarcastic Thalia standing in my doorway. The time was 1:09 (precise, much?) AM.

"Thals!" I exclaimed. "You don't know how happy I am to see you." I attempted to jump out of bed unsuccessfully; I'd say it was more like stumbling. I quickly caught myself, quick on my feet. "What are you doing home so late?"

"Well," she started, picking at her teeth with her short, stubby nail. "I was at Percy's last night, remember? We ended up watching a movie, trying console Rachel. She really seemed pretty upset." She sent a sideways glance my way. "_And_ since this is _my_ house, I'm pretty sure I'm entitled to live here, which means I can come home at whatever time I like, even if it is 1:10 in the morning." I rolled my eyes at Thalia's unpleasant remark.  
>"But you have work tomorrow," I said, "are you sure you'll be able to function on five hours of sleep?"<p>

"I've pulled all-nighters on work days, Annie," Thalia said, throwing her purse in the room across from the guest bedroom I was staying in. "Looks like there's lots more you have to learn about me."

"Glad to see you're not mad any more," I muttered under my breath. Thalia incredulously raised an eyebrow.

"Is that what you think?" She questioned.

"Look," I replied, attempting to fix my hair so I looked less crazy. "I'd really appreciate it if you hear me out before you actually jump to conclusions. I'm your best friend, don't you-"

"_Used_ to be my best friend. Not too sure 'bout that anymore."

I ignored her. "… Don't you think you should hear my side of the story and what I have to say? Don't go all Aunt Alexandra on me, when she only listens to Francis's side of the story and not Scout's in To Kill A Mockingbird."

Thalia actually laughed. "I can't believe you're actually bringing books into this conversation. But then again, when don't you?" What can I say? It's a classic.

I playfully rolled my eyes. So far, so good. "Anyway, the reason Rachel flipped out and said I hit her yesterday was because I caught her. I caught her doing something very, very bad." Thalia sat down on the bed, sensing that this was going to be a long story.

"Just get to the point," she spat.

"Rachel invited Silena and me over to her house to have a sleepover after we went to the mall together. We were all having a spectacular time, and even _I_ was really excited about the sleepover. I'd done what you told me – _give Rachel a chance_. But boy, was I wrong. I should've never done that. She only hurt me in ways that one can't even imagine…she turned you all against me, for example. Okay, so Rachel told us to come over at 7:00, right? So I went home and got ready for the sleepover, packing the belongings I'd need." I paused to make sure Thalia was listening. She was, very intently. "Then, when I left a little early at 6:45 to see if Rachel needed any help with anything, there was a car in Rachel's driveway. At the time, I assumed it was Silena's car. So I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I figured I'd just invite myself inside since I heard Rachel upstairs. I thought of an idea – one that I honestly don't regret thinking of. I pulled out the sea-green camera I had bought earlier and jumped in the bedroom where Rachel was, screaming 'RAWR!'. I snapped the photo just in time, expecting to see a picture of Rachel and Silena scared out of their minds for blackmail use later on. Instead, I got a picture of Rachel _making out with some guy_. And no, the guy wasn't Percy. Rachel immediately ordered me out, and so I left." I halted, watching Thalia's facial expression. Her mouth was slightly opened.

"No way," she said skeptically.

"Yes, way," I told her. She shook her head. "And guess what? I have evidence." I ran downstairs to where I'd left my sea-green camera the day of the incident. I picked it up from on top of the counter and ran upstairs. Thalia remained seated on the bed. I plopped down next to her and turned the camera on.

Except it didn't turn on.  
>I muttered a curse word, desperately trying to turn the camera back on. A message that said "Low Battery" popped up. Why that happened really unsettled me, considering the fact that the camera was almost fully charged when I snapped the photo earlier.<p>

"I guess it's out of battery," I said. Thalia opened her mouth to say something, but I quickly interrupted. "I'll have to charge it right away and we'll have a look at the pic in the morning." I picked up the charger and plugged it into the camera. A red light came on, signaling that it was charging.

"Do you believe me?" I asked Thalia. She looked uncertain, like she didn't know what to believe anymore.

But then, she nodded, and I jumped for joy.

"I can't picture you hurting anyone," Thalia said, shrugging. "Plus, you're my best friend. I should've known that Rachel was a lying hoe-bag all along. I'm sorry." Thalia got up and reached out her arms, embracing me in a huge bear hug. I smiled.

My smile quickly turned into a frown when Thalia stepped back, a sheepish look on her face.

"What's wrong?" I questioned.

"Well," Thalia scuffed her foot on the floor. "There's just one, _little_ problem."

"And what's that?" I raised an eyebrow, showing a sudden peak of interest in what Thalia was saying.

"You can no longer go to Perce's wedding…he and Rachel sorta' banned you from there." My mouth dropped. "But no worries, I won't go if you don't go!"

"That's not really what I'm worried about," I said. "It's just, I sorta totally forgot they were getting married in less than…wait a second, when are they getting married?"

"Their practice wedding is tomorrow," Thalia said, "and the actual wedding is a week from Saturday."

"One week from Saturday?!" I shrieked. That was way too short for my liking.

"Um, yea, that's kinda' what I just s-"

"Oh my gosh," I freaked. "How am I supposed to convince everyone that Rachel is a cheater before that exact date?" I rubbed my temples, stressing.

"It's okay, you've got me by your side! I'm sure it'll be pretty easy."

"Haven't you ever heard of the saying 'Easier said than done'?" I asked Thalia. She nodded. "I'd keep that in mind."

Thalia sighed. "Look, Annabeth. Right now, you're just really tired. I'd recommend taking a nice, long, break for a bit. Get some rest. I'm sorry I woke you up. We'll worry about everything in the morning, okay?"

I huffed, annoyed. "All right," I finally agreed. "Goodnight Thals. Glad to have you by my side." I smiled at her.

She returned the kind gesture, grinning wildly. "Don't let the bed bugs bite," she said, walking out of my room and closing the door behind her. I sat back down on my bed, shut my eyes, and hoped everything would turn out a-okay tomorrow morning.  
>But like all the other times with the exception of one, my wish didn't come true.<p>

**Sorry to leave you guys with a bit of a cliff hanger… *****grins***** Anyway, I hope you really liked this chapter! Let me know what you think in a review. Also, sorry about how short the chappie was. **


	22. Author's Note

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

**Ouch, it's been quite a while since my last update…but here I am, well and alive. I haven't forgotten about this story (in fact, I've gone back and read it quite a few times…all of which have ended in humiliation in my writing skills and language of the past); I've just lost pretty much all my inspiration, which is truly unfortunate. I've also been rather busy with school and extracurriculars. **

**However, since it **_**has **_**been two years, I was curious: if I were to finish this story, how many of you would read it? **

**Also, I have yet to read The Blood Of Olympus (I'm a horrible person), so if any of you guys have read it, please DO NOT spoil it for me. That's not cool.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**- starglow13 (who, you might ask? I don't blame you…)**


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